Minor cut, major lessons
I cut my thumb this morning while dicing apples. Just a teeny-weeny cut, but blood did gush out. Now out of nowhere, two voices arose in my mind. I’m not sure what to term them. So I’ll just go with — the weaker me and the stronger me. Not surprisingly, the weaker voice popped out first.
Weaker me: Urgggh… that’s bad. What a way to start the day. Drop the knife.
Stronger me: It’s nothing. Just a tiny cut. You go ahead.
Weaker me: Look at all the blood! Go, sit on the couch and sulk. Show it to someone, lament, shed tears, and they might finish the apple for you.
Stronger me: You’ve gotta get breakfast done for your family. Finish the apple, wash your thumb, and go on!
Weaker me: Poor you. Not fair to have a cut in your thumb while cooking for your family. How sad!
Battling with the voices in my head, this time I decided to heed to the stronger me. Carefully, I chopped the rest of the apple, washed my thumb, sucked it a little and got on with the other chores. Though a trivial affair, a sense of accomplishment washed over me as I had gotten over the weaker me.
This little incident taught me how the way we choose to react to our circumstances has a huge impact on us either moving forward or staying stuck in a tough situation. Apart from day-to-day events, how do we handle other major dents in our life? A health setback, a career obstacle, a relationship hiccup or any other “look-what-I’m-going-through” sort of issues. Do we dust it off and march ahead or do we sulk and whine about our present condition?
I’m not saying that venting out is wrong. But just talking about your problems to any sympathetic ear and deriving satisfaction out of their sympathy is just going to get you deeper into the quicksand of self-pity. It slowly but surely sucks the joy and enthusiasm out of your core being, turning you into a wobbly mess before you know it!
So the next time you find yourself inviting a basket of pity from others, buckle up and splash some confidence instead. Remember, the stronger you is the real you.
