“No Longer Lend Your Strength To That Which You Wish To Be Free From” – Jewel
These next words of wisdom come from the lyrics to the song, “Life Uncommon” from the album, Spirit by Jewel. The first time I heard this song was back in 1998 when I was 14 years old. I received the album for Christmas and loved it, but back then, I couldn’t relate to the lyrics of the songs as well as I can today. This line contains some of my favorite set of lyrics from the entire album because it says so much in just a few words. The song is about living a life with faith instead of fear, even in our darkest moments and it’s about putting your energy towards the things you want instead of the things you do not want. It truly inspires me every time I hear it and I hope it can do the same for you.
How often do you complain about things you don’t want to happen to you or about things other people do that disappoints you? If you’re anything like me and most of the population, it can be too often. We have all heard about the power of positive thought. When you think positive, positive things will happen to you. It may sound too simple to be true, but it really works. It may sound simple, but it’s not that easy. The problem is we have become adapted to thinking negatively and because of that, we automatically default to negative thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, there are many positive people out there, but if any of them tell you it doesn’t take work, they’re lying.
As human beings capable of a wide variety of feelings and living in the society we live in, it’s normal to feel scared, confused, lost, hopeless, angry, insecure, jealous, etc. But, the more we give in to these negative feelings, the more power they will have and the more power they have, the more likely they are to stick around and make things happen in our lives that reflect those feelings. Negative feelings take up a lot of our energy and we only have so much of it. Why not use that energy for good thoughts and things instead? The more energy we give to positive things, the less energy there will be for negative.
So, how do you teach yourself to think and act more positively on a daily basis? It’s different for everybody. You can write and read positive affirmations every day when you wake up and every night before you go to sleep. You can watch inspirational speeches by life coaches on YouTube at the times you’re feeling low (my personal favorite life coach is Lisa Nichols). You can even correct yourself every time you think or say or do a negative thing and counteract it with a positive thing to get yourself used to the idea. No matter what works for you, once you find it, you will be one step closer to truly living a life uncommon.
Just remember that for every negative thing that can happen, a positive one is just as likely to happen and if you completely rid your mind and life of negativity by choosing to find the positive in the negative, it will become easier to live the kind of life you want and be around the kind of people that are good for you. The song talks about faith, but faith doesn’t have to mean a certain religion. Faith is whatever you choose to believe in that betters your life. We may have a different religion and belief system, but we can all share the same faith. Faith in yourself, faith in others, and faith in the journey of life. As long as you lend your strength, time, and open heart to that faith and nothing else, wonderful things will await you. I guarantee it. Glow & shine bright! xo
Check out Jewel’s song, “Life Uncommon” here: