Know who you are and don’t buy into the hype that surrounds you – that’s my message to the world.
It’s 12 : 18 PM on day 1513 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Song of Song 8, publish my Disability of the Day feature, promote my Educate Generations campaign – on $770 – feed myself egg with bread and a banana for breakfast and continue promoting my campaign – still on $770 but that’s okay lots of people promised to donate I trust that they will meanwhile I’ll focus on raising awareness about girls’ education 🙂
This morning I realized I remain largely unaffected by both compliments and criticisms because I know who I am don’t get me wrong I will always appreciate and be humbled by the kind things people say to me and about me but I will never wake up thinking I am so inspirational I see myself as an ordinary girl trying her best to change the world. Do you buy into the hype that surrounds you?
Our need for enthusiastic acceptance, excitement, compliments and praise for all good things that we do is not to be underestimated.
Because these are affirmations of our integral presence in the world. They confirm to us our own value as contributing and participating members of our community and, ultimately, the human family. We need to be needed. We need to be necessary, integral, meaningful, helpful, etc.
Of course, don’t let it go to your head in the way that you might imagine you are important (or more important than others) just for being there/here or just because you show up. Don’t get puffed up just because you’re doing something better than someone else. Or being more useful or helpful. Their failure, self-betrayal and insignificance is mostly their problem. It has nothing to do with you beyond your need to encourage them and build them up to the tasks that are theirs to do.
Enthusiastic acceptance, excitement, compliments and praise can not fill our hearts with lasting peace, self-satisfaction and joy because we always have more to do and much more to become. Such is our design, destiny and assignments. BUT without them…
Without enthusiastic acceptance, excitement, compliments and praise OR false and undeserving praise, we can lose confidence, courage, self-esteem, our sense of identity…
I agree with you that all of us need to be needed 🙂