Bully Proofing You: Taming The Bully Between Your Ears

Bullying is a global problem but the solution is individual. Did you know it starts with you and how you control your thoughts?

I’m sure you have heard, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is mentioned many times in the bible and by parents trying to teach their children a valuable life lesson.

It is also the source of much pain. It is how personal value is lost. Many kind loving people trying to do the right thing put others before themselves. They love their neighbor more than themselves.

I’m not talking about ego here or saying you’re better than everyone. Quite the contrary. I’m saying you say things to yourself you would never dream of saying to someone else. Why? You value their opinion of you. You’re not sure how they would react. You want to be nice. You care about others. There are many more but you get the idea.

Think back over the last week. How many times did you call yourself a bad name or put yourself down? How many times did you put yourself last to make sure others were taken care of? If you’re not sure, keep track this week. Carry a small notebook or sheet of paper with you and every time you saying something not very nice to yourself write what you said and your emotional sate down on the paper. At the end of the day read over them and summarize your thoughts and feelings about what you have said.

When you are happy and feeling good, you say happy things to yourself and others. It is only when you are mad or upset, that the ability to bully comes in. Humans have a built in safety mechanism. A human cannot hurt another human.

I can hear you now saying, “But Jeanie, people hurt people all the time.” No, they don’t. They hurt objects. When you dehumanize, you can hurt. When call someone a bit*@ or any number of unsavory names, you dehumanize. They are no longer human and you can hurt them.

History is full of horrifying examples of what humans can do to objects they have dehumanized. Your workplace, your community, your school, your house, and maybe even your life has examples of what happens when you forget the value of a human.

I want you to know. You are loved. You are valuable. You are needed in this time and space. You have a mission that only you can fulfill. No one else has the ability to do what you can do. No one else can reach the people you need to reach.

It is time to stop bulling yourself. It is time to tame the bully between your ears and start loving yourself. When you show love to yourself you are more likely to show it to others. When you value your life, you value the lives of others.

I invite you to start today. I invite you to start loving yourself more. I invite you to start valuing yourself more. I invite you to love others as yourself. I invite you to see the humans you interact with every moment of the day.

No one is on the roads is trying to piss you off. They’re just trying to get where they are going just like you. They have a family that loves them just like you. They have hopes and dreams just like you.

Everyone is valuable. Yes, even you and everyone you know. Start treating them so. Today make the world a better place starting with the voice inside your head.