It hit me like the proverbial “ton of bricks”, today, as I was walking around the indoor track at my gym, PEAC Health & Fitness. Am I SOOOOO humble that I am unable to find a way to consistently have a positive impact on people with the gifts that I KNOW that I have? After all, I AM @positivelyjoef on Instagram. So it must be true, right ? (FWIW I’m poking fun at myself here…)
Ok, ok – I chose THAT particular name because I laughed when I saw legit famous, impactful and influential people that called themselves “THE REAL <fill in the blanks>” on Instagram – and when I chose that name, I thought – well, I AM a positive person. #seewhatididthere … ANYWAY, I digress…
As I was walking on the track, I was thinking about my grown son who had started coming to the gym again and was there somewhere working out. As a Reiki practitioner, I always wonder whether I do enough “work” on/with my own children, and, from there, my thoughts “took off” – and I was only a 1/4th of a lap into my walk!! Reiki, health and fitness, professional advice, the list continues…I had to stop the run-on thoughts that were leading me to “am I a good enough Dad?”. Enough. WHOA…only to be replaced by more dialogue (was this ME talking to ME? Or Spirit /the Universe talking to me?) “you know, Joe, many people that are lifelong friends and awesome friends you now have at this gym, CONSTANTLY tell you that you have a ‘great story to tell’ – mostly around my “Reiki and energy work”, my “intune-ness with the Universe” and my “empathy, understanding, and compassion” – “why don’t you do more speaking?” they ask. (for the record, at this point, I’m now ½-way around the track…).
Then the AH-HA MOMENT: I’m too humble for my own good. In other words, I let “ego” run the show, rather than respond to what the moment intends for me. As I finished up my lap around the track, I vowed to, on a regular basis, a) write more blogs (starting with this one), b) share related videos, c) commit to being even MORE in the moment in helping others. I need to follow my heart and Spirit (the Universe’s) calling that I know I am in tune with.
So, rather than only “walking the talk” I figured I’d “talk (er…WRITE) the talk” – my conclusions as to how I can move from being “humble to helpful” are shared below. I trust that these will resonate with you as well.
If you are the “light” in the “darkness”, and no one else is around in the “darkness”, is there really light? Just like the “tree falling in the woods”, right? Or the definition of integrity: doing the right thing even when no one is watching. To illustrate: many of our fellow humans, at any given moment, are struggling with something (unbeknownst to us) and they may be standing right next to you, talking to you, or purposely avoiding you. Imagine if you didn’t hide behind your own humility - that filter that says things like “They don’t want to talk to me; I’ll leave them alone; They are distracted; They have things on their mind” – and you simply extended a kind gesture to them? A smile or encouraging “nod”, holding the door, a text that says “Thinking about you” or “I appreciate you” …can be the light that THEY need. Which leads me to…
Get over your damn self. You are NOT your EGO!!! “Ego” was built into our human experience SIMPLY. FOR. SURVIVAL. – as an individual and as a species. Ego is not just a self-centered, bullying type of personality characteristic that we hear about in leadership in the corporate world, or in politicians or in successful athletes or entertainers. In its purest form, ego is simply a filter that, ultimately, keeps us from speaking, acting or living consistent with our heart and soul’s purpose (again, for what we understand to be survival purposes). Once you separate who you are, from your ego, your life will be more fulfilling, and you’ll so easily impact OTHERS. So why don’t you just…
Be the pebble in the pond (not the giant boulder that doesn’t move). Once you “get over your damn self” and extend that gesture, you become the pebble that was just thrown into the pond – your gesture to that person ripples to and through them. Imagine not only impacting one person, but impacting them SO DEEPLY that they are compelled to do the same to their friends, family and acquaintances? And so on, and so on…. All because you decided to get over your damn self and be the light for others. Imagine our world if we were ALL behaving this way.
You have my commitment – as I, yet again, kick my ego to the curb – to be more “me” and to not constantly put on this “humble filter”. It’s time to be respectfully humble, AND to trust and be helpful in the process. Will you join me? Namaste.