Daily Health News Email

I can't remember where I signed up for it, but I receive a daily email from "Daily Health News". Most days I don't even read it. Some days I click in and idly skim through while thinking of something else. Today was one of those days, and it was meant to be for me to see it.

I've been struggling with something. I don't deal with extreme anger in a very positive way. It's gotten to the point that I'm lucky I have not lost people who are very dear to me because of this. I didn't think it was that much of a problem anymore, I have already come a loooooong way with it, but I am now realizing that it is a problem, and I need to find a way to handle it a better manner. What am I, like 3 years old? Verbal retailiation, a wrong for a perceived wrong.. no, there is a better way. There has to be.

Anyway, just this morning, this article was in the Daily Health News. Proving again there is a reason for everything, I happened to see this article (I have only included exerpts for brevity) and it hit home. The next post will be about my struggle.

Dont Fight Being Human

The list of celebrities getting toppled from their perches due to their human failings gets longer and longer... Not to mention that our fascination with human weakness has turned into a booming industry.
But what’s even more fascinating than watching all these beautiful, successful people fall? Seeing how they return from the ruin. The drug abuser who comes clean and writes a book... the fitness trainer who was once obese... these people serve as inspiration we love to embrace. According to life coach and Daily Health News regular contributor Lauren Zander, CEO of the Handel Group, there is a very good reason why we find them so entrancing: "Focusing on the failures of others allows us to hide from our own weaknesses, reassuring ourselves that we must be fine since we’d never do that."

It’s Part of the Story
The truth is that our weaknesses (we all have them) are part of being human. Overcoming them is part of the adventure of life, whereas covering up and hiding from a simple weakness can transform it into an obstacle that holds back personal development, and perhaps even destroys your life.
Have you noticed that people who’ve taken charge of failings and turned them around exude more confidence? With their stronger sense of self, they’re better and more inspiring teachers than those who have never had to confront their demons. Since the entire world is facing challenges right now, Lauren says it’s an ideal time to unmask our own weaknesses and take a different approach -- embrace them. She points out that everyone has positive and negative traits, adding "It’s better to be honest about your challenges than to make believe that they don’t exist, since, I promise you, the rest of the world is very aware of your shortcomings."
Accepting and acknowledging our weaknesses makes us immediately more authentic and real. Furthermore, it is only by admitting to our negative traits that we can begin to work on changing them. "Inherent in the concept of making something better is that you have to acknowledge that it’s a problem," says Lauren. "It’s the light emerging from the dark, the yin/yang of life."
But when you acknowledge what is negative in your life you also introduce a crucial question -- are you willing to do the work to make it better? "It isn’t easy to change the way you live -- how you eat, how you talk to others, the routines of your life," says Lauren. Making improvements requires awareness, adjustment and commitment. "Avoiding the conversation means that you don’t have to deal with it," she says. "But once you figure out that it is possible to turn not-so-great into something you’re proud of, you have the inspiration that leads to making a better life."

Picture This
Lauren suggests that one way to get good at admitting your flaws without feeling humiliated is to start a list of your weaknesses in a private journal. Be utterly honest -- the whole point is to realize that we all have human frailties. What are yours?