What If It’s Different This Time?
Everyone remembers their first heartbreak.🥹
Not because they choose to, but because our minds are wired to remember negative experiences more easily.
The downside of negative emotional situations, such as heartbreak or rejection, is that they can define us if we are not careful.
Such situations can set the tone for how you perceive new relationships, react to opportunities, and even respond to genuine interest.
A couple of years ago, I worked with a toxic manager. My days were filled with so much anxiety during my time working with her.
Fast forward a year after that, and I'd started in a new role with a new manager. I discovered I'd become closed off and defensive.
My mind was trying to protect me from the pain I had experienced previously by building walls and ensuring the new manager couldn't 'hurt me'.
In a conversation with this new manager, she shared her previous experience with a toxic boss and how it affected her mental health.
I felt seen, understood, and finally, the walls came crashing down.
Negative experiences from our past can easily shape how we operate in the future.
I've noticed that most of the people I find inspiring don’t let negative situations define their path forward.
Instead, they find opportunities to keep sowing, pouring, investing in others, and providing value.
Now this goes against what you might think to do, especially when coming out of a negative situation.
You might think to yourself, Why should I put myself out there again and risk being refused, rejected, shut down, or ridiculed.
Well, fortune favours the bold, and in some cases, the bold are those who show up regardless of how it went last time around.
In my very few years around the sun, I’ve discovered that the places we experience the most hardship or difficulty are the places we are called to dominate.
Don’t shy away from a decision or action because of a previous negative experience.
It can be different the next time around, and you'll never know except you go again.
So..... Go again!
Rooting for you always!
