Happy Tuesday everyone! Today, I found three inspirational stories to help push you through your week. I hope you find them as interesting and inspiring as I do!!!
A 24-year-old boy seeing out from the trainâs window shoutedâŠâDad, look the trees are going behind!â
Dad smiled, and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24-year oldâs childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimedâŠâDad, look the clouds are running with us!â
The couple couldnât resist and said to the old manâŠ
âWhy donât you take your son to a good doctor?â The old man smiled and saidâŠâI did, and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.â
Every single person on the planet has a story. Donât judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.
As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact these massive creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was apparent that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. âWhen they are very young and smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, itâs enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.â
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but because they believed they couldnât, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected theyâd be asked the âhalf empty or half fullâ question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: âHow heavy is this glass of water?â
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, âThe absolute weight doesnât matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, itâs not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, Iâll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesnât change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.â
She continued, âThe stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer, and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed â incapable of doing anything.â
Itâs important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Donât carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!
If I say the word narcissist, what comes to your mind? A specifically egotistical rapper, a football jock, a Plastic Surgeon, or your unseemingly wonderful but sharped tongue Aunt?
Any and all of these people can be narcissists. A significant problem with them is they do not always know they are acting in this manner. They can seem so reasonable, quiet and unobtrusive on the outside but could something be lurking deep within?
Narcissism is defined as self-centeredness arising from failure to distinguish the self from external objects, either in very young babies or as a feature of mental disorder. Or extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type. dictionary.com
Defining narcissism is the easy part, spotting the characteristics of a narcissist can be very tricky. Many of them are hidden gems that seem so normal until something makes them snap. Others are very easily spotted.
Spotting Narcissists:
Likable, at first glance. Charming/charismatic
Some are loud, but many are quiet/shy.
Often are in leadership roles
Manage to make conversations about themselves
Guilty of name-dropping
Storytelling of tragedies and failures always have an air of entitlement and victimization
They like nice things use them to display high status
Appearance is everything (not just physical, what people think about what can be seen)
Strongly adverse to criticism
Excuses are their best friend!
Everything is personal
Most times do not know they are narcissistic and if they do will not admit it
You flatter the narcissist just to keep the peace
Believe they have high self-esteem and no deep-seated insecurities, in theory usually have low self-esteem
Put others on a pedestal, and are then highly critical of them
Manipulative
Change the facts to suit their needs
Can empathize contrary to popular belief. However, they can turn their empathy off if will impact them in some way.
As you can see from the eighteen above signs, narcissists are everywhere and so plainly hidden. I find that I have tendencies that I need to work on and watch. But we learn what we live and live what we learn. I am just trying to admit and deal with it! đ
Vulnerable narcissists (VN) are the hardest to spot. They are masked as normal, helpless, sensitive and caring people. They are our friends, Aunts, Mothers, Cousins, etc… The VN cares for us and loves us but has not been given all the “goods” to make them whole and completely functioning humans.
Many of them have been abused physically, emotionally, even sexually. And many of them just have issues like everyone else. Bad childhoods, broken homes, fighting parents, poverty…Something I have found in my personal mental health journey is that there is a stigma about getting help, especially with our older population.
It is sad that there is a stigma for getting the help of any kind in 2018. But it is still out there. We need to be open and understanding about these things, not judgemental and disengaged. Narcissists most time do not know they are that way and most certainly will not admit they are one.
I am just starting to scratch the surface of Narcissism within my own journey. As I learn new things, read new books and do more therapy I will expand on this topic. For today, I wanted to scratch the surface of what Narcissism is and how better to spot the hidden signs within your lives.
Okay, so, this morning at 6:07 am Eastern, Summer arrived. Well, what does that mean for all of us? And why should we care, I thought this post was about self-help? I’m also a teacher guys, sorry! I love to share information I can find!
The summer solstice begins when the tilt of Earthâs axis is most inclined towards the sun directly above the Tropic of Cancer. The winter solstice, which falls on Friday, Dec. 21 this year, is the exact opposite. Today is the longest day of the year and it also marks the beginning of winter for the Southern Hemisphere. Cool, huh?!
If perhaps, you are reading this from the Arctic Circle, you will not see the sunset but a few minutes today. So to all of you, enjoy, put on some sunscreen and pull the blinds tonight for bed!
Many countries around the world have celebrations for solstice. Sweden celebrates Midsummer, or summer solstice, by dancing around Maypoles and drinking. Slovakia celebrates Kupala or cupid night. And we can’t forget Stonehenge, one of the largest celebrations in the world; thousands gather to welcome the solstice and get married.
The term solstice derives from Latin “sol” meaning “sun” and “sistere” which means “to make stand.” My advice, go stand in the sun! Sounds close enough.
Anywho, today, in PA we will get approximately 15-15.5 glorious hours of Vitamin D! Use this gloriously long day, to go soak in some sunshine, revel in the beauty of nature and listen to the songs of the birds. Nature has a really strange and easy way of making you feel oneness instead of aloneness.