Ideas feel personal.
When others compliment your ideas, you feel seen, appreciated, and understood.
When they criticize your ideas, you become hurt, angered, or self conscious.
The problem is that you think your ideas come from you.
Ideas may come to you, but they do not come from you.
You are not the source of the thoughts in your mind.
In fact, you are not the thoughts in your mind.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing.
Simply wait.
Be patient.
Let things be.
See what happens.
Be a listener and observer.
Allow what is going to be to be.
Pay attention to the people who are happy when you are happy.
There are a lot of different versions of this saying.
What they all have in common is the idea that you should be mindful of who is and is not supportive of your success.
But this type of thinking only leads to bitterness, resentment, and self pity.
It is an attitude of victimhood disguised as wisdom that will not lead to greater success, happiness, or contentment.
You have no way of knowing what someone is thinking, why they do what they do, or what they are going through, which may have nothing to do with you.
Live your life as you see fit, seek happiness and success for their own sake, and find a peace in yourself that is unaffected by the ever-changing world around you.
Do not worry about why people do the things they do.
There is no sense in making up a story in your mind about their motives and intentions.
Doing so will not bring you peace.
You cannot know what is in another person’s heart.
It is difficult enough to know yourself without being driven mad trying to figure out why other people make the choices they make.
It is better to simply look at what they do and to accept it for what it is without judgement or emotion.
Live in the moment, make your decisions based on what you know to be true, and do not waste your time making people heroes or villains in your imagination.
There may be better ways to do things than the way you do them.
Another way may be more effective or more efficient.
Someone else may have a better plan, idea, or methodology than you.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are wrong, however.
You have to find a way to live your life that works for you.
You need to find a way to do things that you can live with, that is sustainable for you, and that you will not regret.
No matter how much better another person’s way of doing things may be, if it does not suit you, your abilities, or your values, it is not better for you.
Meditations on God 