I want you to think about who hurt you the most. You got that name in your head? Ok, continue.
The other day I was thinking about nicknames in school. I got called names in school and I internalized it and was offended by it. The popular kids had nicknames too. What they did was embrace their nicknames. They put it on the back of their sports clothing. They referred to themselves by the nickname in the third person.
The difference here comes down to mostly attitude. It isn’t fun being the one that wants to lock yourself away in a room and cry your eyes out whenever you are called what you think is a bad name. But is it fun to be a popular kid and get called your nickname that you already embraced? Of course, that is a whole different ball game. Lol, that’s a fitting sports metaphors for happy jocks.
So, ultimately who hurt the sad kid? Was it the kids calling names? Was it the kid who internalized the name his or herself?
You do not get hurt more by anyone than yourself. Why is that? You say that doesn’t make sense. The other kids are the name calling bullies. Why are you the one hurting yourself?
It boils down to those thoughts in your head. I talked about changing negative thought forms once before. It applies to so many things in life. It could apply to physical hurt. Have you ever seen these old woman who go out, exercise, and jog. They are in great shape. It’s because the phrase, “old and frail” never crossed their mind.
I found a Bible verse that I really like for this. Lamentations 3:44 NIV - “You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.” Can we block ourselves from spiritual things with a cloud? Of course we can. We can say who hears our pray and include/exclude or loved ones, guides, or angels. It stands to reason that we could block out God himself if our thoughts are not flowing correctly.
It is funny that the world often says the bully is the one with the problem. OK something is different about the bully and it is most certainly not right what they do. But we aren’t the bully and we can’t control them. How we respond to name calling, being criticized, or drama is what we control and that can be a problem too. We allow our preferences, comfort levels and thresholds of pain to get in the way. We let the things we have experienced in life get in the way! Don’t let your past define you, let God define you. Allow God to heal your past, bitterness & unforgiveness.
Like attracts like. Embrace what life gives you and be what you want out of life to attract more of that.