I want to tell you a little story about how I almost let a Fake Weather Report ruin my day, what I learned from that experience, and the pledge I have made myself.
I won't try and sugar coat it, the weather in Perth over the last few days has been totally shite…
Unless you're the sort of person who loves rain, and cold, and winds, and all the misery those things bring when combined together.
I'm not one of those people…
I live for the sun and the warmth.
I endure winter, just so I can have the summers, and I suspect I am one of those people affected by SAD Disorder.
Anyhoo, so there I was, lying in bed on a Saturday morning, wondering if the weather had improved from ‘only good for ducks'.
According to the weather app on my phone it had not.
13 degrees and raining, was enough to have me ignoring the furchildrens' plaintive whining, a reminder that they had not been walked yesterday.
I put my phone on silent and went back to sleep, only to discover when I finally got up, that it was not 13 degrees and raining.
Instead, it was a bright, brilliant sunny day. The sort that had me shedding layers as I walked around the park. The sort that had me wishing I had ignored the weather report when I first looked at it.
I had believed what somebody else had told me and I had lost a large part of a sensational morning.
Instead of being happy and working on my Vit D supplies, I had been feeling sorry for myself and sulking.
As I reflected on this very thing, the result of my response to the Fake Weather report, I realised that it was really just a reflection of a much larger issue.
You see, too often, we allow other people's opinions to sway us, before we even try something.
We do something, or don't do something, because on what others say.
We decide whether we are happy or angry about things, before we are even exposed to them.
We adopt a herd mentality rather than go out on our own.
And we remain in situations we don't want to be in, because we are worried about what other people will think or say.
We play it safe. We stay in the cave.
We turn the adventurous part of ourselves.
AND WE MISS OUT ON SO MUCH.
Rather than try stuff just for the sake of it, we reserve our energy for things that other people tell us we will like.
When the truth is, that we really should just keep an open mind until we decide ourselves what we like or do not like, and we shouldn't care if others don't agree with us.
I should have just jumped out of bed this morning and throw myself at the adventure of the world, even if it really was 13 degrees and raining.
I should have been happy just to have been alive and able to run around in the rain.
I should have chosen to enjoy myself, to find the fun in the situation.
To have taken joy from listening to the array of frogs and insects that come to life in the wet.
And to have enjoyed the solitude a walk in the rain affords.
To live life to the fullest, no matter what…
Rather than hiding in the shadows of other people's opinions.
And so, this is my pledge to myself…
To not worry about what it is that other people think of me.
To not worry about fitting into the ‘norm'.
To not limit my personality to makes others more comfortable.
And to not put myself into situations I don't want to be in.
Instead, I will look for the magic in the world.
I will fill my heart with joy, and my life with new experiences.
I will try anything I want to, no matter what others think.
And I will not be concerned with whether or not people think I am weird.
I will be true to who I am, and what my life's purpose is, and I will let no one stand in my way.
If this has resonated with you, I would love to hear your pledge to yourself. Feel free to email me at donna@donnajoyusher.com to let me know.
Hope your week is an amazing one.
In Your Corner
Donna Joy
