Read Online Stand Strong: You Can Overcome Bullying (and Other Stuff That Keeps You Down) by Nick Vujicic - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nick Vujicic
Ads: Link
same.
Jenny was teased and bullied in grade school and high school because, like me, she doesn’t look like most other people. It’s sad but true that she was not noticed for the beauty that was in her heart and mind; instead she was picked on and treated harshly because she was born with Apert syndrome.
After reading Jenny’s e-mail, I had to look up Apert syndrome because I was not familiar with it. This seems like a cruel disability. Some studies say one in sixty-five thousand children born have it. Most have malformations of their skulls, faces, hands, and feet. I mentioned earlier that as a child I often felt sorry for myself because my disabilities were so obvious andcouldn’t be hidden. It’s very humbling to think that Jenny dealt with a much more severe physical disability with such grace, though she admitted that she, too, had her bad days, as you might expect.
“Suffice it to say that it took much faith in God, the support of my family, especially my mom and dad and my sisters to help me figure out that I was OK despite what the ‘world’ thought,” she wrote to me. “I LOVE YOUR testimony on this. I especially LOVE what you said on the
20/20
[television show] interview that ‘it’s not what the world thinks of you, but what YOU think of you.’ I have lived by that same motto for a LONG time.”
Jenny said she graduated high school, college, and grad school with good grades while also playing the trumpet and singing in her church choir. She also wrote that music plays an important role in her own safety zone, just as it does in mine. I often play music when I’m stressed out or feeling sad. I’ve done this since my teen years when I was bullied. Music soothes me, and Jenny said that it does the same for her.
“I don’t know that I would be the same person had it not been for music,” she wrote. “It’s where I find my peace, my soul.”
One of the great things about creating your own safety zone—whether in your mind or a special room or space—is that you can fill it with whatever puts your soul at peace: yourfavorite music, images of loved ones, prayers, inspirational messages, quotes from Scripture, or even mental or real images of your favorite inspirational people (I am available of course!). It’s your “room,” so feel free to decorate it any way you want.
One of the great things about creating your own safety zone is that you can fill it with whatever puts your soul at peace.
Another valuable item that I recommend you take into your safety zone is your purpose or mission in life. If you haven’t decided what that is yet, that’s okay. Instead, bring along thoughts of your passion, whatever it is that you enjoy doing most. Let that feeling of happiness and fulfillment wash over you.
Think about how you might build your entire life around that passion. If it’s music, maybe you could be an entertainer or a music teacher or work in the music industry. If you are a computer wizard, you have even more opportunities out there creating software or apps, developing new search engines or operating systems. Let your imagination take you away from what’s troubling you now and into a much better future.
When you decide what your passions are—yes, you can have more than one—it becomes easier to find other people who share the same interests. Often you find them by joiningclubs, teams, or hobby groups built around those shared passions. This is good for you on many levels, and it also builds up your bully defense system and gives you another room in your safety zone. You see, psychologists say the more social interactions we have—the closer we are to family members, and the more friends and acquaintances we have—the less likely it is that a bully can isolate us as targets.
It’s also true that when you have a passion for something, it’s usually because you are good at it or some aspect of it. That helps build your confidence and self-esteem, which are powerful additions
Jenny was teased and bullied in grade school and high school because, like me, she doesn’t look like most other people. It’s sad but true that she was not noticed for the beauty that was in her heart and mind; instead she was picked on and treated harshly because she was born with Apert syndrome.
After reading Jenny’s e-mail, I had to look up Apert syndrome because I was not familiar with it. This seems like a cruel disability. Some studies say one in sixty-five thousand children born have it. Most have malformations of their skulls, faces, hands, and feet. I mentioned earlier that as a child I often felt sorry for myself because my disabilities were so obvious andcouldn’t be hidden. It’s very humbling to think that Jenny dealt with a much more severe physical disability with such grace, though she admitted that she, too, had her bad days, as you might expect.
“Suffice it to say that it took much faith in God, the support of my family, especially my mom and dad and my sisters to help me figure out that I was OK despite what the ‘world’ thought,” she wrote to me. “I LOVE YOUR testimony on this. I especially LOVE what you said on the
20/20
[television show] interview that ‘it’s not what the world thinks of you, but what YOU think of you.’ I have lived by that same motto for a LONG time.”
Jenny said she graduated high school, college, and grad school with good grades while also playing the trumpet and singing in her church choir. She also wrote that music plays an important role in her own safety zone, just as it does in mine. I often play music when I’m stressed out or feeling sad. I’ve done this since my teen years when I was bullied. Music soothes me, and Jenny said that it does the same for her.
“I don’t know that I would be the same person had it not been for music,” she wrote. “It’s where I find my peace, my soul.”
One of the great things about creating your own safety zone—whether in your mind or a special room or space—is that you can fill it with whatever puts your soul at peace: yourfavorite music, images of loved ones, prayers, inspirational messages, quotes from Scripture, or even mental or real images of your favorite inspirational people (I am available of course!). It’s your “room,” so feel free to decorate it any way you want.
One of the great things about creating your own safety zone is that you can fill it with whatever puts your soul at peace.
Another valuable item that I recommend you take into your safety zone is your purpose or mission in life. If you haven’t decided what that is yet, that’s okay. Instead, bring along thoughts of your passion, whatever it is that you enjoy doing most. Let that feeling of happiness and fulfillment wash over you.
Think about how you might build your entire life around that passion. If it’s music, maybe you could be an entertainer or a music teacher or work in the music industry. If you are a computer wizard, you have even more opportunities out there creating software or apps, developing new search engines or operating systems. Let your imagination take you away from what’s troubling you now and into a much better future.
When you decide what your passions are—yes, you can have more than one—it becomes easier to find other people who share the same interests. Often you find them by joiningclubs, teams, or hobby groups built around those shared passions. This is good for you on many levels, and it also builds up your bully defense system and gives you another room in your safety zone. You see, psychologists say the more social interactions we have—the closer we are to family members, and the more friends and acquaintances we have—the less likely it is that a bully can isolate us as targets.
It’s also true that when you have a passion for something, it’s usually because you are good at it or some aspect of it. That helps build your confidence and self-esteem, which are powerful additions
Similar Books
