The Daily G.I.F.T. from The GratiDude

Play your own tune and stop copying others, YOUR vibration is music to OUR ears.

www.grateful4.org

Gratitude

Intention

First

Things

The G.I.F.T. Today

Grateful: for knowing I control my experience and I choose love and calm today

Intention-bring everyone I can into the moment of now with loving intention

First-is there a class I can catch on the way?

Things-check with a few folks in SRQ, prayers up!

Morning Meditation from The GratiDude

I have my own style of dress, even though I don’t get dressed up very often. I’ve always like clothes and I think I have a lot of clothes because of some of the emotional issues around not being able to buy any school clothes that I wanted without having to use my own money back when I was a teenager.

It was a pretty common thing for middle-class kids to get a chunk of cash right before the school year started to go shopping and a lot of kids would show up with all of their new clothes on the first week or two of school.

The only place my mom would ever take us TJ Maxx.  This was the place where “you could get the max for the minimum” which is a load of shit.

The clothes would be often be in piles and the sizes would be all mixed up, but you could find some socially acceptable clothes there, even though they might have uneven buttons or a stripe or two missing…shhhh!

It was like the clothing store that was akin to the island of the unwanted toys, these are all the button-down shirts and crew sweaters that didn’t quite pass the elite muster for Buffy and Biff and for the kids in Birmingham and Grosse Pointe and so they got sent out all the TJ Maxx stores throughout Southeast Michigan.

Everybody that grew up in the 80s had visits to TJ Maxx unless your parents were rich.

And at the end of the day, if I knew then what I know now I would’ve spent my time shopping in the cool thrift stores and secondhand stores throughout Ann Arbor in Ypsilanti and for a fraction of the cost of even a TJ Maxx crooked cut shirt I could have some cool ass action that would’ve been pretty unique. realize.

That’s the point,  you will get there eventually and stop being concerned with the opinions of others.

It is a fight that you could never win and all it does is just pull you and tug you further and further away from staying connected to your higher self and to growing your own self-knowledge. 

The desire to fit in and be accepted is strong as we are very social creatures. However, you can both fit in and be unique at the same time, which is the real plan underneath everything.

Not worrying about what others think can have many emotional benefits, including: 

Increased self-confidence

People who are internally validated, and don’t need external approval, are more likely to be confident and secure. 

Greater freedom

You can be more authentic and do what makes you happy without worrying about what others think. 

Reduced stress

Constantly worrying about what others think can be stressful and unhelpful. 

Improved well-being

Reducing worry can help your body unwind and create more mental space. 

Here are some tips that may help you stop worrying about what others think: 

• Develop a personal philosophy: Commit to living in accordance with your own principles. 

• Practice attentional control: Learn to direct your attention to what you want to focus on. Mindfulness can be a powerful way to practice attentional control. 

• Consider the source: Not all opinions are equally important. 

• Accept your flaws: Don’t strive for perfection, but instead accept yourself as you are.