True or False:
Birds fly south in the winter and grizzly bears hibernate.
You’ve probably heard both of these statements numerous times, yet both are inherently false.
No matter how cold the weather is where you live, if you trust your eyes, you’ll note that a great many birds brave the harshest of conditions. They don’t go anywhere, much less south.
As for the grizzly bears in the northwestern regions of the United States and Canada, they don’t hibernate. They dig dens and take a rest in a sleepy state referred to as torpor, but if you think they never come out of those dens until the snow and cold are gone, you’d be incorrect.
I recently purchased a few grizzly bear photography books to add to my collection, and it was amazing to see ole Mama Bear plodding through the snow with three or four cubs trailing close behind. Grizzlies are somewhat sleepy during the winter season, and they do spend a fair amount of time resting in their dens, but they aren’t hibernating for several months when it gets frosty.
Now let’s look at the concept of self-love, something that we’re told is an absolute must in self-development circles. But is it really?
Well, some of what we’re told is somewhat true.
We’re told you cannot love anyone else more than you love yourself. We’re told in the Bible to love your neighbor as yourself.
But does this mean we should focus all of our time on “loving ourselves more?”
I think it’s far better and far more productive to do as Dr. Maltz taught: “See yourself with kind eyes.”
Stop being so hard on yourself. Stop criticizing yourself. See the better part of YOU. Then get on with your day, doing the work to create the life you want to live.
The more you create results in your life that you are pleased with, the more you will come to “love yourself” without giving much thought to it at all.
Similar to the birds that don’t fly south, you will find plenty of food (work to do) where you are. And if there’s insufficient food up north to supply you when it’s frosty, then you focus on flying south so you can get some. In the bird kingdom, their focus is on the food.
If you want to get results in your life, you do what the birds are teaching us. You put your focus on what you want to accomplish and you maintain that vision until it becomes part of your life.
Focusing on self-love is usually a diversion that may feel nice, temporarily, but it won’t put hay in the barn or pay the bills.
If you’re prone to self-loathing, take the focus off yourself and put it on something that you can and want to accomplish in the here and now. As you’re working on your accomplishment, you will instantly feel good, even though that isn’t what you’re focused on.
Imagine that!
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. Tomorrow marks the final day of the inaugural Theatre of the Mind 30-Day Challenge. The next one begins on March 4. Initially I had planned to begin on February 12, but two unexpected big projects fell into my lap, so I’ll be busting a hump to get them done on time. The reviews are in regarding this first challenge, and I’m thrilled with the progress everyone has made. If you’re interested in being involved in this next round, the fee is currently set at 1K, but it will go UP as we move closer to the actual start date. If you want in, send an email to mattfurey@mac.com, and if you’re a fit for this program, I will send you the link to enroll NOW.
