Who can’t raise their hand and say, “I’ve never had this happen to me!” No one! I came across a new quote and bought it to hang in my office…it reads, “INTEGRITY – The higher courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity.” When you have to choose, what do you do? Do you give in and just make peace because you don’t want to pick that fight or do you stand up because of what you believe in, regardless of how many times you have been thrown under the bus? I’m in such a quandary. I know there are times when keeping our mouths shut is best. Yes, I don’t always do that very well now. For those of you that are just tuning in, I am a question-asker. I think as a child, I was encouraged to be inquisitive and wonder about the big world I was so minimized in by my little presence. I am pretty good at understanding answers that are given as well. But if answers change mid-answer and I leave a situation even more confused than before I asked the question, what do I do? Sometimes, it upsets people when I ask questions and I have heard more than once to “just do what I am told” and “that I ask too many questions”. I guess I look at it this way — if you know 5 bits of information and yet you only give me 2 and I ask for clarifying information, I might need more bits of information. Seems simple, doesn’t it? But, alas, it is not always viewed that way. Just pointing it out because chances are you have had an experience like this before. If not, you will. This framed picture of a wave and this saying give me strength when I am faced with a dilemma and am not sure what to do or say. One of the biggest changes a friend has seen in me is that I am more confident when I question something, where when she first met me, I just “did what I was told” and never asked questions. Now, I am sure sometimes she wishes I would go back to the “old” me. LOL, DM!! Here it is folks…what do YOU do when you have a choice to make and one could fill you with regrets and the other may be wrong? Here is what I have learned about regrets…most of us regret what we DON’T do…I wish I would have tried out for the college tennis team…I wish I would have had the courage to ask that guy out…I wish I would have tried. Does any of that sound familiar? So here is how I approached my dilemma…I let my heart speak and if I get thrown under the bus, then so be it. Those wounds will heal and I am stronger than any scar, bruise, or broken bone that may come as a result of that action. However, my heart will have led me and if I have said all I needed to say, then I will NEVER have any regrets. I have dared to be myself in the face of adversity.
Michelle Homme 2012 ©
