Shallow voices

I had a tough run today.  10 miles and all of them hurt.  I got into a cold bath and even added ice.  I felt a lot better when I got cleaned up, dressed and ready for the day.  I felt good because I had done the 10 miles.  I stuck it out even when I really wanted to quit.  That's what marathon training has done for me.  


I was feeling good about the day, about myself.  And then.  And then it was brought to my attention that there had been some hurtful things said about me.  Some judgments made and careless thoughtless words spread about my life, my business, my intentions.  Ouch.  I know - it's business and it happens, right?  Don't take it personally.  When someone can show me exactly how this is done, I'll do it.  I haven't yet seen anyone accomplish this, really - not when your character is questioned.


This made me think how easy it is to hurt someone with a sweeping broad stroke that is neither thought out or checked out to see if it's true.  It seems that, often times, we expect the worst of people.  Why is that?  We expect the worst, we observe a situation and think we see it objectively, but we don't.  As Dr. Phil says, "No matter how flat you make a pancake, it still has two sides."  I just love that.  How often do we look at the other side?  How often do we give someone the benefit of the doubt?  Do we ever try to walk in their shoes?  When we make a statement about someone else, is it based on fact or feeling?  How many assumptions are made?


Words are powerful.  Words can hurt. Words can heal.  Words cannot be taken back.  Words turn into voices in our heads that direct our paths.  Jim Rohn said, "Don't spend most of your time on the voices that don't count. Tune out the shallow voices so that you will have more time to tune in the valuable ones."  People who spend their time, or any time at all, tearing down someone else do not have a voice worth listening to.  I will continue to work on listening to the valuable voices in my life.  I will work on my weak spots without beating myself up or tearing someone else down.


Maybe this isn't the most uplifting blog post, but it's what's on my mind and I think it's worth sharing because I know I am not alone in this experience.  I encourage you to tune out those shallow voices and turn up the valuable ones!