Accolades

I've had a great weekend full of friends and great food. The Kitchen was an experience that I won't soon forget. Not only was the food phenomenal but the atmosphere could not have been better. It's amazing when you can be in a place where everyone is open to each other. The staff were so nice and easy to interact with it felt like they were friends almost. In addition the people that were there for dinner all seemed to just be friendly. Perhaps it was the shared love of food or just a safe environment. It makes me wonder why people can't just be friendly all the time. Why in social context do people not always seem this friendly and genuinely nice?

I have been doing meditations and I've started to really focus on thinking about what energy I'm putting out into the world. I know that it's not a tangible or measurable thing but it does exist. I witness it when I get a smile back from people or just a boost in my own day. I think that it is equally important to monitor what energy I am taking in from people. It is far too easy to get caught up in negative energy and then deal it back out. I see this a lot with people who I know that thrive on drama. They want to get a rise out of me and to join in the conversation. I think that it is detrimental to my mood to join in though. I need to focus on letting their energy roll off of me and seek out other positive energy. If I truly feel that life is good then I need to live that.

I know that I've mentioned it in a few posts lately but I continue to think about not taking anything personally. I think that it is a challenge for me that I see would make a positive change in my life. I would love to have my gratification come from my self and my own praise rather than looking for it from others. Perhaps one step on this journey would be to not bring up accomplishments in conversation. I have been using Facebook, for example, to get accolades for my distance running. Why? I shouldn't need the approval from anyone but myself. I think I will limit my posts to my own achievements. For example I can post that I'm going running(perhaps I can inspire someone) but I don't need to use the facts and figures in the posts. I am enjoying the connection that I get with people from making posts but I need it to be just that. Social is fine but validation needs to stop.

It's very difficult to take in information, positive or negative about myself and not internalize it or make it personal.