One Apple A Day #549 - Make it personal
"Don't take anything personally" is the second of the four agreements shared by Don Miguel Ruiz in his most famous book, The Four Agreements.
Ruiz reminds us that nothing other people do is because of us, but it is because of themselves. Using his words: "Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds."
This is a powerful reminder that would remove a lot of tension and stress from our life. We spend so much time worrying about the opinions of others. In doing so, we let those opinions shape our behaviours and, in the end, our lives.
As Ruiz wrote: "You take it personally because you agree with whatever was said. As soon as you agree, the poison goes through you, and you are trapped in the dream of hell. What causes you to be trapped is what we call personal importance. Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about me."
What happens around me is not about me. It may impact my life, indeed, but it is not about me.
Though, in my experience, I've learned that only when I make something personal, I really give everything I got to make things happen.
So, my agreement becomes "Don't take anything personally, but make everything personal."
Whatever happens around me, it is not about me, but it is part of me as much as I am part of it. So, I won't take it personally, but I'll make it personal infusing my whole being into my doing.
"If we understand and feel that every animal, person and object is our very own self, we cannot go wrong. That is the experience of love." — Rupert Spira