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One basic thing I have observed with air travel is that when you go to an airport there is a specific weight your luggage must not exceed. No matter how important they are you would be required to cut the excesses. Even if all are important you are supposed to make a choice of carrying the most important out of the important. Why is it so? Because when the air craft carries too heavy load it may not be able to fly. For an aircraft to have smooth take off and landing, it is important that weight is put into consideration. Applying this to us as humans, leading others and aspiring to be successful in life, it is important to know therefore, that the lighter the weight the higher we can fly.
If you must soar high in life then you must be willing to cut excesses and ignore the unnecessary by not letting them get at you. Select words and attitude you attach importance to. When a word or attitude does not get at me, it means I refused to let it get into me. How? By selecting or choosing not to think about it, give it a wave of hand or shake it off.
We live in a world where we interact with people on a daily basis at different levels on different platforms at different locations; at work, school, bus, market, neighborhood, church etc. One thing that is inevitable as far as interaction and leadership is concerned is that offensive, derogatory and abusive words would be thrown at you. How do you react when people who have not tamed their tongue water you down intentionally and unintentionally? Do you begin to carefully analyze and dissect statements or words into details and beginning to think over it? That can be dangerous.
Does it discourage and break you down or direct you to turn and pour your heart out to God. Do not get disappointed when the people you least expect throw words at you. You might say “oh and he is a pastor, or he has mentored great minds how comes he has to talk to me in such a way?” Just shake it off and move on. How come Peninnah (which means precious stone) became a pain to Hannah? 1Samuel1:6 says “And her rival used to provoke her sorely to irritate her” because Hannah couldn’t bear a child for their husband at the time. It is good to react emotionally but after that who do you turn to? In verse 10 of that Scripture (1Samuel 1) it says Hannah was “deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”
She ended up as the mother of one of the greatest prophets in Israel. Turn to God and tell Him how you feel, He would give comfort no matter how extreme your emotions fail you. 1Corinthians 12:9 says “But He said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God shows Himself mighty in our weakest moments, and that is why He is the best person to turn to in times like this.
Do not let people spoil your day or kill your vision by pouring their frustrations and vexations on you, develop your mind to adopt a separation technique because from what you want out of life, accepting to be down casted even for a minute should not be acceptable. Turn to the Lord instead and pour your heart out to Him. Psalm 31:1 says “in you oh Lord do I seek refuge let me not be put to shame in thy righteousness deliver me.”
There was a story of a farmer’s donkey that fell into a pit, after so much effort to bring it out proved abortive. Out of pity they decided to bury it so that it won’t remain there to continue with the struggle. Then they brought shovels and began to throw sand into the pit. While the sand will pour on the donkeys back it would shake it off and step on it. This continued until the pit was filled and the donkey eventually came out of the pit.
As we continue with our daily activities we must always ensure that words, as powerful as they are; should not bring us down when thrown at us. Instead shake it off and move on, your strategy as a leader is not working and people are saying all kinds of things against you. Shake it off and move on! Am I going to put to mind peoples attitude towards me? I will shake it off! This is the only way you can be consistently victorious on daily basis with peace of mind. Remember, each time you are confronted with such a situation Say a simple prayer like, ‘Holy Spirit I need you’, then smile, and shake it off like the donkey, step on it. You are making progress.
Shalom.
