Cutting The Clutter - Getting The Stuff Out Of Your Ears

Cutting the Clutter - Getting the Stuff out of Your Ears

Happiness is good health and a bad memory. —Ingrid Bergman

I READ an interesting editorial in the Dallas Morning News. The writer was exploring a controversial subject, as well as addressing the negative—no, nasty—e-mail she had received from a reader. She went on to explain, exposing her vulnerability, how this really affected her.

Is it not amazing that we hold so tightly to that one voice—one from our distant past or maybe an opinion expressed just yesterday? Regardless of the number of accolades and positive reinforcement from others, that one statement, sometimes made in passing and sometimes not even meant to be hurtful, shapes our perception of our self or our performance.

I don’t believe employee annual reviews are helpful. Many times, I have carefully considered the ten objectives for the employee review and marked “Excellent!” on seven of the objectives, “Very Good” on two, and “Needs Improvement” on the one remaining. What do you think the employee hears during the review? Yep. Only the one thing that needs improvement. All of the “atta boys” and “atta girls” go right out the window, right along with their self-confidence.

I dropped an e-mail to the news columnist after reading her article, sharing with her my respect for her deep thinking, her courage for stating the facts, and her authenticity in exposing her vulnerabilities. She let me know how wonderful it was to get “love” mail rather than hate mail. I wondered, How many love mails does it take to negate that one nasty-gram? From my experience with employee reviews, I know it’s greater than 9 to 1.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (Psalm 34:18)

Girlfriends, we have to be determined to get the “nasty stuff” out of our ears. Focus on those who appreciate you and respect your efforts. Don’t let that one voice undermine who you’re supposed to be or what you’re destined to accomplish.