QUESTION OF THE DAY: ARE YOU THE DECISIVE ELEMENT?
I found this quote (below) hanging on the wall of a friend's classroom recently, and thought it was wonderful. I particularly love the honesty of the first line — the idea that recognizing the power of your own response in all situations can be "frightening". Indeed it is frightening to take on self-accountability at such a massive scale. It's so much easier to blame everyone else and everything else for all your troubles! (Trust me on this, folks; as a world-class blamer from way back, I know what I'm talking about here.) But accepting absolute self-accountability can also mark the beginning of an amazing journey into true liberation…the moment you say to yourself, "It all comes down to me."
So here is the quote:
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crises is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized.
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
— Haim Ginott
Any thoughts on this?
I'm curious to hear them — so share them here!
Love, Liz
(ps — as ever, the beautiful and serene painting of the floating bull is by the artist Caitlin Hurd, whom I love.)
