protect yourself

 

Protect Yourself Against The Crappy Stuff In Life

Want to protect yourself against the crappy stuff in life? Here’s exactly how to protect yourself with ease.

 

 

Let’s chat about how to protect yourself. 

When I say crap I mean anything that has the potential to hurt or harm you or negatively impact the positive energy you bring to each day.

So I want to start by sharing with you a story and this story is as simple as it gets. It involves me being committed to taking two 4 kms a day, rain, hail or shine. And when I say rain, hail or shine I mean this literally.

There have been times when it has been pouring outside and I haven’t taken my first or second walk and it doesn’t even cross my mind that I would consider staying home.

I know I have to walk, that I want to go on that walk because it feels so amazing to do so just so I can clear my mind and give my body the exercise that it needs.

 

protect yourself

 

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

But here’s what I used to do before, until I realised just how ridiculous it was.

 

I would put on my flimsy raincoat and go out for my 40 minute walk and get totally wet throughout my little journey.

I would get drenched and come home looking like a drowned rat and of course I love myself for my determination to take action despite the elements but I wasn’t doing much to protect myself from the elements at all.

The raincoat would do little to buffer me against the harsh weather – I would come home with soaked through shoes where I could literally feel the water swimming inside my shoes.

My clothes would get wet underneath my raincoat because my raincoat was best suited to mild rain and not the sort of rain that falls heavy, the sort you can feel in the core of your bones and makes you feel freezing and heavy with wetness.

Then one day a few months ago it crossed my mind that I should be better prepared for these wet walks and I took with me an umbrella when I went out one wet morning with my two dogs and my gosh my whole life felt like it changed in that moment.

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

I can’t believe that it had never crossed my mind to take an umbrella with me on my walk.

 

To be honest I have gone through close to 48 years without ever owning an umbrella.

Sure my kids had one to put into their school bags for rainy days and my husband was smart enough to have one for when he played golf or went out to watch or coach sports on wet days but me…

Nope I was certain that an umbrella was something I could survive without because hey, my mantra was a little rain never killed anyone…which I have to note here, I can’t be sure whether this statement is true or not true.

 

protect yourself

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

Needless to say, going for a walk with an umbrella and raincoat was a game-changer for me.

 

I didn’t come home drenched, I stayed dry underneath it. The whole experience of walking in rain became something actually pleasurable rather than half tortuous.

It’s crazy to think that I could have always protected myself against the elements for years by just taking an umbrella along with me.

Such a simple yet super smart decision.

So why am I writing about my obvious discovery that going for a walk in the rain with an umbrella is a smart thing to do?

Because this is just one of the way that we can protect ourselves from the things in life that have the potentially to negatively impact us.

And when I speak about rain, well it negatively impacted me by causing me to come home from my walks feeling crabby and wet and completely freezing in the past because I did nothing to protect myself from these elements.

Now I want to take this story and use the umbrella as a metaphor for how we can use other things in life to protect us from the things that have the potential to negatively harm us.

 

protect yourself

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

Let’s just say you are visiting family who sometimes come to an event with negative energy.

 

Now of course you could stay home and not go if that’s what you really want to do but you have to be honest with yourself here. Would you go if you knew they wouldn’t bother you?

Do you dream about going and having your positive energy be so powerful that it negates the impact of a few negative comments?

Do you want to work out a way to show up and be the higher person who lives life with love and compassion and isn’t so easily offended by others?

I know for me when it comes to my daily walks, my commitment to myself and my health is so strong that I plan to go for walks even when it’s raining.

Unless of course it’s thunderstorming or there’s torrential rain which let’s be honest happens so rarely, maybe once a year if most.

Not going for a walk isn’t an option just like for you not living life isn’t an option either.

 

protect yourself

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

Of course you could protect yourself from everything in life by hiding and avoiding people and events but that’s not what I’m recommending here.

 

I’m not recommending you run and hide underneath your bed as a smart strategy for dealing with conflict or obstacles or problems in your life.

What I’m recommending instead is that you find and grab those umbrellas in life that make unpleasant events more bearable or enjoyable.

So what’s the umbrella you can take with you in that example I used about visiting family who are sometimes or often negative?

You could decide in advance to surrender to the moment rather than expecting them to be someone they are not…and to do your best to show them love, compassion and understanding while you are in their presence as opposed to being defensive and judgemental yourself.

That could be the armor you protect yourself with … .an armor of love, where you love, care and accept yourself first and then decide…

I get to show up in these moments however I want to show up today.

I can choose to love.

I can choose to take deep breaths.

I can choose to pause.

I can choose to walk away.

I can choose to think before I respond.

I can choose to speak my truth.

I can choose to do whatever I feel called to do, from a place of love rather than defensiveness and fear.

 

This really applies to every situation in your life.

 

Ask yourself how can I protect yourself against the crappy stuff which doesn’t involve you running away and hiding.

Though that might sound like a great short-term game-plan, that strategy will leave you feeling weak and disempowered.

Here are some strategies that I have personally found to work incredibly well in my life. My so-called metaphorical umbrella when I am feeling tired and overwhelmed is to rest and journal.

When I’m around people with negative energy, I limit our conversations to a shorter time frame and remind myself “not my monkey, not my circus.”

When I’m feeling lost and confused about what I should do next, my umbrella is to look within and ask myself: what do I feel called to do next?

What is my heart and soul and intuition guiding me to do?

I also remind myself of my WHY – WHY did I even set that goal? What’s my long-term vision and dream? I do my best to tap into and reconnect with those feelings of hope and excitement that will come from achieving those goals.

 

protect yourself

 

 

PROTECT YOURSELF

I know this all sounds so simplistic but guess what?

 

Umbrellas are a simple invention designed to protect us from the rain and I avoided using one for over 40 years. Seriously, that just sounds crazy to me now.

I want you to consider that rather than thinking that the solution to any problem you are facing right now, what if the answer is as simple as that umbrella? If you’re completely honest with yourself, you know that the answer is pretty simple right.

In philosophy this is actually called Occam’s Razor, which simply states: “the simplest solution is almost always the best.”

This theory, which was named after the 14th century philosopher William of Ockham, argues that when it comes to problem-solving simplicity is better than complexity and it states that entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.

So please don’t complicate your life or your problems beyond necessity. Assume there is a simple way to protect yourself against crap.

Assume you also know what that answer is. I mean, deep down you do know what it is. All you need to do next is take action on it, which of course is usually easier said than done but even still…this all gets to be SIMPLE.

Much love,

Frances Vidakovic

 

 

 

Before You Go…

 

– See my EVERYTHING PAGE and grab a free gift > HERE

– Get instant access to EVERY COURSE I’ve ever created > HERE

– Listen to my INSPIRING LIFE PODCAST on Spotify or via Apple Podcasts.

– Or for biz owners, listen to LIFE COACH FOR BIZ MOMS Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.