You can’t put a price on your mental health.
When life deals you a harsh blow you quickly realize how valuable your health really is (it’s the only true form of wealth).
I mean, who among us doesn’t take physical health for granted? At least, until we are suddenly felled by a killer cold and need our immune systems to kick in and get rid of the virus for us as quickly as possible so we can enjoy working again.
But I must tell you, until the accident I never really gave any thought at all to my mental health. It simply was never much of an issue before then. I suppose I assumed it was invulnerable to destruction. I couldn’t have been more wrong about that! Then, when it was at risk, quite seriously so, I had no idea of the challenges people face in the mental health care system.
However, the one thing I am clear on, and I bet it’s the same for many dealing with life-threatening situations, is the value of saying no. In fact, this quote sums up my post-injury response to all that threatens my mental health and resonates with me perfectly:
“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me.
I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature.
I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.
I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise.
I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance.
I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons.
I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities.
In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal.
I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement.
Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”
Then I came across the story behind this quote on Senior Planet. The quote had attracted some significant viral action on Facebook and across the Internet. (You may have seen it on your own news feed at some point.)
But it definitely had help having been attributed to and paired with photos of Meryl Streep.
However, as I recently learned on Senior Planet, “this quote is actually from the pen of Portuguese self-help author and life coach José Micard Teixeira – not a woman, and not an elder, but a younger man who is suddenly becoming the “not Streep” Internet celebrity of the month.
On his Facebook page, Teixeira asks his followers to visit the pages of people who’ve shared his quote and ask them to set the record straight; among these people are Julian Lennon and singer Janis Ian.”
If you have seen this quote, please consider making a comment identifying its true author. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it!
More next time. Until then, remember to LOVE YOUR WORK, whatever it may be.
PS I hope you’ll find the new RAISING THE BAR series inspiring. If so, please share this post with friends and followers. You never know what burdens others are carrying or how much their load might be made lighter by doing so. ♥♥♥
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ABOUT RAISING THE BAR:
Raising The Bar is a new series for the SMARTSTART community that has been taking shape in my head for most of the time I’ve spent working to recover from catastrophic brain, spinal cord and psychological injuries resulting from a near fatal accident in 2009. Success, whether it’s in rehab, business, relationships, or life, hinges on our ability to master this simple formula: Belief (B) + Attitude (A) = Response (R).
I’m excited to be sharing it with you now as a next step in my injury recovery. Consider this your invitation to join me on a grand adventure. Oh, the places we will go! Including all the places that scare us most. For that is where the greatest opportunities for joy and happiness — the true measures of success — reside!