Red Light, Green Light, Go!
Sometimes in traffic, when the light turns green and you start to go forward, the people next to you may be slower to notice, and you are alone in your forward motion. If you are like me, this can be disconcerting- for a second you might wonder whether you are mistaken, and whether you shouldn’t be going forward after all. Maybe you slow down, or step on the brakes for a second before recognizing that you are right, and that the others just haven’t caught on yet. The power of the other is in play here- you are doing something different, and even though it is the right thing to do, you doubt yourself just for a moment because no one else is doing it.
In life, sometimes we might feel or know something that is different than what others believe to be true about us. Perhaps there is someone who thinks less of us than we do, and refuses to acknowledge our worth. We learn to go forward feeling our worth whether they come along with us or not. Maybe we’ve decided to change our path from one we’ve been pigeonholed in, to one that truly feels right. We learn to ignore the people who demand that we stay in the pigeonhole, even though they are judging us.
When we learn to listen to ourselves, accept what is true for us, and act on this truth, we gain more of our own power. This power propels us forward in a life where we can truly thrive.