“If you went through what I went through you wouldn’t trust people either.”
“If this happened to you you’d be angry too.”
These statements sound familiar? Yes, I’ve felt that way on occasion. My concern is for the person who feels this way for years.
To hang on to the feelings experienced at the time of any emotionally significant event requires a great commitment.
A commitment to fear, blame, resentment and an unwillingness to forgive.
I see this in people with ADHD or Asperger’s who’ve encountered person after person who was ignorant or simply mean. That was my childhood experience and some of my adult life as well.
The solution isn’t to minimize it, ignore it or get over it.
One solution is to learn at a deep level that YOU are not the opinions of others about you. As Les Brown says, “Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.”
This mindset requires a different kind of commitment. One in which you introspect often, get to know and love yourself as an imperfect human being who is on a journey to learn and grow by gathering wisdom from your experiences.
A journey in which learning is the measure of success. LEARNING, not avoiding hurt and not avoiding mistakes of any kind. This is important work and an act of self-love.
