Receiving Praise v Rejection
So you would love to play the piano, and you are aware that being ridiculed or criticised in some way is stopping you?
Perhaps you were playing, at any level, and somehow the comments of other people, rattled you and you now don’t play?
This whole thing about expressing ourselves, the truth of who we are, and playing a musical instrument potentially brings comments from other people.
Do you feel that it’s alright only if people make positive comments? Is it bad if people ridicule you, or criticise you, or reject you?
What if I said that the way to move forward with strength, is to learn to be neutral about other people’s comments?
That is, learn to not react to other people’s opinions of your self-expression. It would be understandable to seek praise and feel warm and fussy from adulation or appreciation.
Where I have come to in my journey of navigating these things, is to stay neutral. Why?
At the end of the day, in the privacy of my own mind and heart, I know where I am at in my expression. I know the truth. I know what kind of performance I gave. I know what my inner ‘set point’ is.
If I allow praise or rejection or expectations of other people to shift that set point, I am lost to myself.
The path I am on becomes no longer my own.
Therefore, the healthy response to praise or rejection is…. “thank you”.
Simple as that.
And then we return to our own path.
