Have you ever stopped yourself from doing something you wanted to do for fear of what the haters will say?
You know the haters, right?
As stated in the dictionary, a ‘hater’ is:
1. A person who has an intense dislike for another person or thing (often used in combination)
2. Informal. a person who thrives on showing hate toward, criticising, or belittling other people or things, usually unfairly
We know when someone is criticising unfairly, their feelings and comments are really about them, not us. But still, sometimes, or often, we let fear of criticism prevent us from taking action, or simply living as our authentic selves.
Are you ready to stop letting external negative feedback prevent you from following your heart’s desires?
Are you ready to live life on your terms, regardless of what anyone else thinks?
To help you with this I’m not going to say: Just don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.
While that’s great advice, we’ve all heard it and it’s usually not enough to eliminate some, or a lot, of the hurt/disappointment we feel in response to external criticism.
So you’re not going to simply ignore criticism.
Nope. You’re going to celebrate it!
You’re going to do a happy dance. Not just in your mind. Oh no. You’re going to get up from your chair, with or without music, and begin busting your moves in celebration of having haters.
This is a dance of gratitude for the haters who show up and
share their criticisms with you. Or maybe you just hear
about their criticism through the grapevine.
Either way, it’s time to do
a celebratory dance. Here’s two big, important reasons why…
First, haters are evidence YOU ARE IN THE ARENA. Whereas the people who
criticise you are sitting on the sidelines of the area
When you’re in the arena,
you are outside your comfort zone, your face ‘marred by dust
and sweat and blood’ as stated so wonderfully in this quote by Theodore
Roosevelt; a quote made well know more recently by Brene Brown in her
book Daring Greatly:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. …”
People
who are also in the arena are
unlikely to criticise you because they know what it’s like to be in the arena;
They know the courage it took for you to get in there and stay in there.
The people who are criticising you are highly likely sitting on the sidelines
of the arena.
The second reason you celebrate the haters… It’s evidence you are living in
alignment with your true self. And the truer and more authentic you become, the more haters you are
likely to experience. The most authentic
people tend to be quite polarising; They are either loved or hated (and plenty
of each), not much in between.
So be your authentic self.
Follow the calling of your soul.
Yes, you will attract people who disapprove and think it’s appropriate to share
that with you.
But you will also find your
tribe and people who love you.
And that’s worth celebrating.