Hello friends!
It is my absolute privilege and honor to introduce you to Melissa Holmes. She is one of the most resilient, amazing people that I have ever had the opportunity to know. She has so much wisdom to share, and you’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the near future. What she has to say can change your life. Enjoy!
Self Protection, Spotlight On You ~ By Melissa Holmes
Whether it is in the workplace or your personal life it is critical to protect yourself from toxic people and situations. Friends that may overwhelm you with their life problems, a manager that implies you need to work overtime even though your family needs you home. These are only a couple of the many toxic situations that can influence your emotional health and thus affect your physical health. Sometimes we don’t even realize the parts of your life that are toxic challenges until they become overwhelming, or on occasion incapacitating. It is important to identify these and take charge of them, before they take charge of you.
Have you ever said “Oh, what a day! I think I’ll skip the gym tonight I’m just too drained”. Think back through your day: did you spend your normal work day responding to a friend’s self inflicted drama, even though you had a heavy load of your own responsibilities that day? Was that someone that truly needed your time or had an emergency……. or was it you who chose to respond immediately?
What if you waited until after work to talk to that friend? You have the power to put you first. Period. You hold the key to making the changes in your life that impact you in the biggest way. Situations can be overwhelming and it’s scary to make changes. It doesn’t have to be scary; start gently by identifying one toxic situation in your life. Then problem solve one way you can change your response. How can you respond to the situation with respect and love towards yourself? Can you choose to not respond immediately when that drama filled friend sends you message after message at work? By focusing on your own priority, like your workload, and pushing your response time to that friend back, you are showing yourself love by putting the focus back on you.
Believe in yourself – you can do this! Believe in God – he is always with you and this is a part of his plan.
You are important. Whatever you change for the better of you, the situation will be okay while you distance yourself. The other person or toxicity, will find another way to make it without the energy being drained from you. When you realize that putting yourself up front and the toxicity further away from you doesn’t hurt anyone and it IS possible, it only gets better from there! The strength you feel within, the weightlessness is so freeing it is amazing how that one small change had such an amazing affect.
Remember if you choose to leave these toxic situations as they are it doesn’t matter how much yoga or meditation you do, the toxic effect remains. You are showing people that you don’t believe you are worth more. Who would ever want to convey that image of themselves? Make one small ripple and see how big your wave of self worth grows. You will be amazed at how much your heart swells with love for yourself.
Don’t ever shrink your self-worth for others. If you have, then remember you still have the power to change that. No one else can determine if you fight for yourself, only you. That is empowering! If you recognize a situation that is toxic you always have the right to change it. You hold the power to protecting yourself, how you respond to the situation determines if you come first. Always remember you are worth coming first. Your mind, your emotions, your body are all yours and that’s it.
Realize how important your health and well being are. Set the precedence that show you know you’re worth it. Change the dynamic in your life from negative toxic situations to a positive focus on you. Put the spotlight on you and let everyone see how bright you can shine.