"Don't go in the direction of the dogs."

It is almost impossible to live a life that is unaffected by other people, their attitudes and opinions. If one isn’t diligently careful those negative aspects could shape your perspective, influence decisions and/or behavior. One skill I’ve acquired during my personal growth is the ability to identify when I need to keep my perspectives non-bias and my judgement to a minimum basically sharpen my self-awareness. Unfortunately, I still fall prey to a few blind spots. I'm still vulnerable to being influenced toward ungodly attitudes and negative actions. Just a couple of weeks ago I found myself reacting to negative energy created by someone else due to their foolishness. I typically steer clear of the negativity produced by people who are obviously miserable. However, try as I might I’ve loss some battles. It can be difficult to remain positive when you feel like you're being taken advantage of in some way. 

I added the picture below this paragraph to assist with forming a mental picture to illustrate of my point. The guy in all black represents my life. Essentially it’s me working my hardest to change and alter surroundings, attitude etc as I press forward. The guy in the white jacket represents the presence of negative energy/people working hard to pull me back, notice he has one foot firmly anchored in the “past”. {Side bar; the sad reality is if you don’t remain diligent in creating a positive atmosphere, negativity will cause you to lose more ground than you’ve gained.} The green resistance bands represents “things/mistakes” used to hold me. Now how many times have you personally agonized over past mistakes, poor choices or bad decisions? What good has it done? So why do we continue to allow it to be used in holding us back or slowing us down? The guy in the pink represents the “prize”. What’s the prize? I’m not sure what the prize is for you but for me it represents a place of truly balanced contentment. It’s where anyone can express what they think, how they feel and it does not penetrate my positive atmosphere. I know my “prize” is waiting for me. I can sense that I’m closer already. I’ve noticed how I can allow things to happen without owning or taking it personally. I can not control how people think, feel or what they do. However I must share with you what I have done to continue to ascend.    

Stay focus and maintain my drive to press forward. “It's difficult to see the forest for the trees” don't be so consumed by the details of a problem/conflict you lose sight of the situation as a whole. No one can take from you the joy in your life, the focus you have on healthy living nor the positive direction you are walking. Be attentive to what you entertain if you are not mindful you could give away the peace and positive atmosphere you created. I had to make a conscious decision to cut out negativity through the people I allowed to have a seat at my table, the conversations I participated in and the places I spent time going. There had to be some cutting away in order for there to be an increase. There wasn’t a moment of vacant spaces because God filled every space with positive energy and new opportunities. I shared a dream I had about a stampede of some vicious pitbulls running with a trusted confidant and she offered this advice “Nay, don’t go in the direction of the dogs!” There will be times when you feel like reacting, retaliating or handing out repercussions but none of it will be worth giving up your peace to run with dogs.

  “When they go low we go high!” ~Michelle Obama.

LatriceRenee

Be Strong.....Live Free