Loser phrases

Lorna K. shared a neat idea from a sponsor of hers:  Loser phrases

I know what those are (and you probably do, too); I groan when I hear them, I know they’re bogus, yet I all-too-often use them myself.  (Well, if not openly, certainly in my own “self-talk” in my head.)  Like . . .   (Oh yeah-- don't forget to use a nice, whiney voice when you read each one  . . . )

1.         I deserve … (fill in the blank)  a good relationship, a cool car, a large expense account, honor from my friends, colleagues, family, etc.

Honey, be thankful you have a G-d of Mercy.  If you got what you deserve . . .

2.         It’s hard for me . . . to call my outreach calls, to tithe 10% of my income, to smile when I’m in pain, to help my neighbor, etc.

Honey, its hard for us all.  From Y. Berg:  Our good nature and endearing qualities will not arouse the answers to our prayers.  Rather it is our mischievous, dishonest attributes that provide the master keys to heaven.  When we identify and work to transform our self-centered qualities and crooked characteristics, the key turns and the gates unlock. . .

3.         My situation is different because . . .  I had a difficult childhood, I have greater needs, I’m too (you name it), etc.

Honey, we’re all different.  That’s the way G-d planned it.  In spirituality, we get to overcome those differences and become a part of, instead of separate from.

4.         Yes, but . . .

No buts.  Run if you hear this coming  (and you can hear the “yeah but” crowd a mile away).

5.         I’d like to, I really would.

Then do it.  Period.  Action is the magic word.  "We do not think our way to right action, we act our way to right thinking."

6.         I’m just born this way.  It’s the way I am.

You were born with a G-dly soul, uniquely suited for the purpose for which you’ve been placed on this Earth.  It may be difficult at times to perceive what that purpose is.  But, you have tools.  Use them.   G-d’s  Spirit is closer to you than you are to yourself, and He/She/It is always ready to assist you in fulfilling your mission.

As Marianne Williamson (born 1952), a spiritual activist and author wrote in her book, A Return to Love (1992) (and no, not Nelson Mandela in a commencement speech in 1994, as is often mis-attributed), “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

7.  I need . . .

As Rebbetzin Vichne Kaplan ob”m (of blessed memory) once said, we must be aware of the difference between our needs and our wants.  I need love, air, and Spirituality.  I want a chocolate bar.  (This is one I used to use as a mantra when I taught kindergarten.)

I must remember that the 5 most important words in Spirituality are change, change, change, change, and finally, change.  I have to give up these phrases.  I’m not going to be a loser anymore.