We all have our fears and worries. A dentist appointment ranks up there with the fear of public speaking and dangerous animals. I’m sorry but this cartoon from the past probably won’t help ease your dental anxiety.
However, there are some good resources out there for those suffering this fear.
It’s a good thing I didn’t have a cell phone in school. Would I have received a call from Mom? Probably not. But I most likely would have been calling for a lifeline every few minutes.
Today, can you really trust if it’s your mom calling you? Scammers can mask any number and make it appears it is coming from your loved one. If your mother is calling to ask for your social security number, it’s probably a good sign that the person on the other line is a scammer. The deep, bass voice may be a giveaway too.
Alas, if you get slapped with a restraining order, you probably aren’t loving your neighbors the right way! What does it look like to help those around us when society has become very suspicious of anyone offering help?
Today, we will almost certainly need to maintain our composure. If we are parents of young kids, we’ll need it. Waiting for that business deal, or dealing with the workflow will require us to be patient. And someone who is inconsiderate, insincere, or just rude will require a little more from us. We all need a heaping dose of patience.
One of those areas will affect some of us more than others. Yet, there is someone all of us will need great tolerance for. That person is ourselves. This quote reminds us we need to give ourselves a break.
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.”
Saint Francis de Sales (1567 – 1622)
Of all the people we need patience with, ourselves can be the hardest. We know our thoughts and actions. We can be hard on ourselves way too much. If we have high standards, we will most likely fall short.
However, we all need to give ourselves a break. Because if we aren’t patient with ourselves, we are going to get stuck. Our frustration with our own imperfections will keep us from moving forward.
Instead of mulling over why we did this or that, consider what it would look like to improve. That will keep us moving in the right direction instead of wasting all of our time berating ourselves for our imperfections.
When we give ourselves grace, we are in a much better place to help others. It opens us up to empathy because we can acknowledge we aren’t perfect. High standards are good until it makes us intolerant of human behavior. What is the point of perfection if it alienates us from others?
When we acknowledge we still have much to learn, it helps us to have the patience and empathy to teach others.
Today, let’s give ourselves a little grace, learn from our imperfections and mistakes, and move forward. It can even help us teach others how to overcome some of the obstacles we have faced.
The other day, I listened to a poscast on baseball great, Buster Posey. When it comes to sports, I’m a very casual observer. But his story on about great things through patience and forgiveness inspired me.
https://colsoncenter.libsyn.com/posey-retires
To many outside observers, it doesn’t make sense that a man at the height of his baseball career decides it is time to focus on family. He turned down millions of dollars in order to do so. And what is he choosing to do instead?
In his retirement speech, Posey mentioned that last year, he had to learn patience and forgiveness as he spent more time with his family. He and his wife have two sets of twins to care for. I find it admirable that he has chosen to take his role as a father seriously. It will take him much patience and forgiveness to live out his daily role as a father.
Sports and careers will come and go. But our investment in our families will last well after coworkers and fans forget us. It takes patience, forgiveness, and a healthy dose of humility to accept such a role. But Buster Posey appears to be a man that is willingly taking on such a role that will bring on greater things.