From The Heart - Listening With The Heart vs. Ego

I know I’m not the only one out there who’s experienced this!

Pic from www.awaken.com

I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a bit sensitive at times. I find that most of my defensiveness comes from a place of feeling bummed because I thought I was on the right track and hearing otherwise. I don’t wallow in self-pity,  I don’t kick myself for making a mistake and I don’t cry my heart out about it. Instead, I feel the need to defend what was constructively criticized. So I ask you, what are we trying to protect? Even though this is something that I don’t do much anymore , I have to include myself because I have to OWN the fact that I still have my moments.

 First,  OWN your flaws and short comings. There is no need to try to conceal those spots in your personality. If you can learn to hide those traits from the world you’ll  become even better at  hiding them from yourself. How will you ever deal with something you continuously run away from?

 Next, MOVE THAT EGO OUT OF THE WAY. This is why renewing our minds daily is important. We don’t wake up flawless lovelies. If we did, we wouldn't need the Lord in our lives, our feelings would never get hurt, all of our thoughts would be positive day in and day out, and we would be able to eat anything we want and not gain unnecessary weight.

I think the best way to move that ego aside is to listen with your heart and keep your mouth closed. Yes, it might be hard but have you ever said the wrong thing because you said the first thing that came to mind? Would you rather say the wrong thing and be embarrassed later? Or, listen and learn something that can benefit you?  If it is difficult for you take good criticism then you must take a few seconds before you respond to a critique. Think about what was said to you and realize that the person offering CONSTRUCTIVE criticism wants to help better a specific aspect of your life. Also, take that time to be thankful for that person. They care about you enough to let you know about something in your life that needs some changing. Not everybody can say that they have people that look out for them and care for them  in this way.. but you can my dear.

 Lastly, thank them for their advice and work on making those changes.