ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In life there are some things that are unfortunately unavoidable, especially when you reach any level of success, make any kind of self improvement, become a better student, athlete, competitor…..the list is endless.
What are these unfortunate things, you ask…and by the way I say unfortunate because they are difficult, they will hurt you, cause you pain, but they are not bad, and as always we are going to find the good in them.
The unfortunate things we are talking about today are gossip, people saying things behind your back that they would never say to your face, and criticism/judgments from people who never even met you.
“What other people think about me…..is none of my business.”
This is the toughest concept we will talk about today. What other people think about me is none of my business. We can’t control what people think, say, or do….we can’t make people see through our eyes, or be able to see through theirs.
We can of course seek to understand, to know that the person trying to drag us down has most likely been dragged down by someone else. It’s not an excuse for the behavior, but it does let us look at someone trying to harm us with compassion instead of hate. It can allow us to free ourselves from the cage of resentment that they are trapped in. How can we fly if we allow ourselves to be caged by negativity, self doubt, and pettiness. Especially when the cage door for all those things is always open if you look hard enough. You can always rise above!
Choosing the Road Less Traveled/Choosing the High Road is about rising above, making the effort to find a different, more difficult, but more rewarding path. It requires more from you, requires all your focus, will cause you to slip and fall, and it will hurt.
The reward for this however is the refinement of your character, the strength you gain by forging your own path, and the company you meet along the way. Yes there are much fewer people on the high road, but they are some amazing people, they will change your life for the better, they will lift you up, push you forward, and love you because they are on the same path as you….and they have had the same rocks thrown at them from the low path as you have. Like you they choose to rise, each and every day.
The high path has the better view, it is the one the sun hits first, it’s the one the flood waters don’t reach, it's the one that illuminates the path ahead, it’s the one with the best views. You can see and be grateful for all the amazing things ahead of you, the low path is crowded and slow moving, it does not have any elevation because it only goes in slow circles at the bottom of the mountain…..the trick is you can’t tell because you are too focused on the person in front of you to look up to the heavens that are above you.
“My advice to you, to me, is don’t forget to look up. When the world tries to bring you down, when people hurt you, say things that are untrue, keep looking up, keep moving forward, onward, and upward, keep climbing, keep rising. You are meant to fly……you just need enough height, space, and courage to spread your wings.”
