Following up on a post that appeared here last week: we are usually much harder on ourselves than others. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. St. Peter Chrysologus said, “The hand of the Creator that assumed clay to make our flesh chose to assume a body for our salvation. That the Creator is in what is created and that God has come among us in the flesh brings dignity to us, without dishonor to the one who created us. Why then, friends, are you so worthless in your own eyes and yet so precious to God? Why render yourself such dishonor when you are honored by God?”
An important life-lesson: we are going to experience failure from time to time. It is inevitable. But how will it affect us? During stressful times, like a worldwide pandemic, we can find ourselves falling into traps, such as negative self-talking – those damaging things we say to ourselves that get in the way of our own happiness and joy. How often are we found saying or just thinking things like these: “There is no way this will work.” “It’s impossible.” “I am no good at this.” Do we really believe at moments like those that we are precious to God? It’s time to stop being so hard on ourselves!
Some practical tips:
- Our mistakes are part of our learning. We can learn to be resilient in the face of struggle or failure.
- There is no need to compare ourselves to others because we aren’t them.
- Sometimes there is no right way to do a thing. Let’s not limit our thinking to a right or wrong way. There’s no right way to do the wrong thing, and no wrong way to do something right!
- Stand up for what we believe, even if it is unpopular.
- We can learn from people who criticize us. We need not waste time or energy letting criticism get us down – let it inspire us!
- Remember that we aren’t good at everything we do, but nobody else is, either!
- Let’s be sure to surround ourselves with people who want to be saints and who also want us to saints. Having saintly people we can trust and rely on will always help us reflect God’s goodness to the world.
“If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are and to whom you belong.” St. Teresa of Calcutta
