I remember my mom telling me a story that I think of during difficult times. It happened years ago when we were just infants.
My father was holding my sister, a baby, in his arms. She was grasping a carrot and, as many kids do, she was flailing about, arms going in every direction.
With no warning at all, it hit. The carrot poked my father right in the eye, scratching his cornea. The burning pain was unbelievable and in spite of the temptation to grab his eye, he instead held the baby even tighter.
There’s a lesson in that story and here it is: When in pain, hang on to those who mean the most to you.
It’s a common story. Someone hits a rough patch, things aren’t going well, and that person pulls away. Even though others may reach out, the person suffering pushes them away. “I want to be alone”, he says. Or she becomes so miserable, no one wants to go near her.
When you feel great pain in the workplace or your private life, how do you react? Do you isolate yourself and pull away from your support system at the very time you need it the most? Do you deny the hands extended to you in kindness? Do you sabotage any assistance offered?
Difficult moments are defining moments.
When things are tough, it’s a chance for you to reach out and respond to those reaching out to you. Pull away and you lose your support system. Instead of being a prickly thorn and pulling away, move toward the people who mean the most to you. Doing so will build their support of you and keep your relationships.
And those people will be there when you need them the most … like when you’re in pain. You might not realize you need them, but they do. So hang on, hang in, and, with their help, you’ll get through.
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© 2013-2020 Marion Grobb Finkelstein
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Better communication, Better business, Better life,
Marion Grobb Finkelstein
COMMUNICATION CONSULTANT
Keynote Speaker / Corporate Trainer / Author
Recipient of APEX “Award for Leadership in Service Innovation”
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