Toughen Up

I don’t have thick skin.

I never have, and I probably never will.

Mostly, I’m okay with that because I know that it makes me who I am, and I kind of like myself.  Even when others don’t.

I’m sensitive because I know what my limits are.  I know what my beliefs and morals are.  Sound like too much?  Too bad.  I am fully aware of what I am willing to put up with from another human being.  And if you cross that line, I find it very difficult to forget it.

Forgiveness is one thing, when someone makes an innocent mistake.  But when someone shows you what type of person they are repeatedly, it’s like they say, “believe them”.  I don’t forget those types of indiscretions.  And if who you are at your core doesn’t jive with my soul, why do I have to pretend the opposite?

I’m sensitive because I am empathic to a fault.  I can simply read an article about something someone is going through and it will stay with me forever. Vividly. As if I were there, going through it with you.  And I’ll spend a good week trying to figure out how to save the world from whatever plight I had read about.

Identifying with others is also how I get in most of my trouble.  Sensitivity comes hand in hand with defensiveness for me.  And when my emotions are running high, my brain shuts down.  When I am in protective mode is also when I do most of my apologizing.

There is a saying that truly inspires me.

“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.” – Mahatma Gandhi

For today, I will just keep moving forward. I will let others get caught up in negativity if they must, because I do not have the time or emotional energy for that right now.

People can be rude, but they are who they are, and they are not going to change.  It is our job, in our own self-improvement journey, to remember who is worth our time and who is not.