Empowering words for any morning
September 20, 2010
I’m not one for trite phrases, mouthed because they feel good in the air, but pop hollow in the heart. If you haven’t got something real to say, I’m ok with sitting around in silence. As evidenced by my friend’s husband and I sitting here companionably, tap tap tapping away on our computers. This weekend, we spent a lot of time talking about life and work situations and I got to thinking about the few times that people have repeated catchphrases that, in my mind, were incredibly empowering for being all of less than ten words.
“Don’t let nobody steal your joy today.” – my favorite bus driver
No matter how horrible the environment I was about to walk into was, there was always a moment of Zen when I disembarked the bus with those words at my back. Years ago, I was having an incredibly, unbelievably stressful time and each morning, it was nauseatingly hard to convince myself to keep walking into the mess that work had become. Hearing those words reminded me that no matter how put upon, no matter how targeted, victimized, or on the verge of quitting the higher-ups wanted me to feel, I could choose to keep control over my own feelings and my own joy.
There was still good in the world, I was still strong, and I would still find it. Thanks, bus driver.
“Make your next move your best move.” – @thefitlounge
Moving to a new city, being on my own (except with PiC) for the first time in my life, leaving my family and worrying about them from afar, and starting a new challenging job all at once nearly six months ago, well ….. mornings were never my best time of day. Mornings became a trial of “what have I done,” “don’t make me go to work,” and “I don’t wanna.” Until I popped onto Twitter for a few minutes to get my bleary eyes tracking and saw East Coasties and their morning greetings.
Single Ma’s Good MornTings! Ruth’s #wmata updates, getting ready in the morning updates, they helped get my brain to turn on and start ticking, but BK and her morning exhortation was the turning point. That put a smile on my face, a boot in my pants and got me going because I suddenly felt like I could DO this thing. I look for that tweet every morning. Thanks, BK.
“Don’t let someone else drive your adventure.”
@FaM: Oh I like that one as well!