Falling in Step to the Wrong Beat Could Alter Your Path - and Your Success
How to say no - and mean it.
“I’ve learned that sometimes, I just have to say no — in a polite and acceptable manner.” — Jill Reid | Discover Your Personal Truth
Why are some people so determined to make choices for others?
I think it’s a combination of ego, self-importance, and a desperate need to be in control - of everything and everyone.
You know what I’m talking about. In fact, you may have people like that in your life - always taking charge, shelling out orders, and expecting others to quickly and obediently fall in line and wait for further instructions.
Unless you’re in the armed forces, this type of behavior can seem unnecessary - and rude. And being in the presence of such a person can be frustrating, exhausting, and intimidating.
Here’s an excerpt from a story in Discover Your Personal Truth that offers a few suggestions for handling your response and making decisions that are just right for you.
Two Simple Words Gave Me Back Control of My Life
“Resistance is futile.” — The Borg
Despite the warning, many of us display resistance as an instinctual reflex.
Typically the result of past experiences, close encounters, and lessons learned, resistive behavior can manifest itself in the form of hesitation, procrastination, or self-sabotage. And that makes the source hard to recognize—and correct.
I began questioning my tendency to reject suggestions and advice from others at an early age. When I was nine years old, my mother enrolled me in the Girl Scouts at the entry level—the “Brownies.”
I wasn’t a joiner.
I knew my own path and was certain it had nothing to do with wearing a brown uniform with a matching hat and sash.
But my mother insisted. She dressed me in the outfit, drove me to the meetings, and left me to cope with a dozen other girl-strangers, half of whom didn’t want to be there either.
“You’ll learn to enjoy it,” she said.
But I didn’t. In fact, I hated it. I had no interest in earning badges, and I didn’t want to be part of a group.
I had enough teachers in school and didn’t need another “leader” attempting to manipulate my young brain into accepting boring and rote patterns of behavior.
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can read the full story and thirty-five others in Discover Your Personal Truth, Book Two of the Real Life Series (available in eBook & paperback at Discover YourPersonalTruth.com)
And for those who enjoy watching video, Click here to take a look at the short Book Trailer …
In health & happiness,
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Jill Reid is the author of Real Life, Discover Your Personal Truth, Life in Small Doses, and Please God, Make Me A Writer. Her books, videos, and newsletter explore life, relationships, self-improvement, health, and personal success strategies for working through the challenges of everyday life.
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