I Choose Innovate Over Replicate
Posted on 25. Sep, 2009 by Susan in Inspiration
“So, you want me to change my thoughts and think that it is OK for my psycho boss to treat me like dirt?”
I get comments like this all the time from clients who are brand new to
thought work. Changing your thoughts does not mean that you become a
wimp. It does not mean that you trick yourself into believing that a
negative circumstance is all peachy and fresh as summer sunshine. It
means that you do not BECOME the negative situation, as my mentor Brooke Castillo would say.
A personal example…
Last night I was surfing the Internet. I found a program called Copyscape.
For free, it allows you to enter your web site address into a search
window, and it will scrub the net and report back to you within seconds
if content from your web site is used other places. So I did it. Guess
what? A coach in Chicago, who is on my mailing list, is using my new
web site content, word for word. I am not talking just a few paragraphs
here. Almost her entire web site, her “about me” section, her coaching
programs, all of it (except for a few references to cake) is my
writing. With her photo.
My short freak out included thoughts like:
- She is stealing my hard work.
- This is not right.
- What a slimy weasel (no offense to Ryan and Emily’s new pet ferrets).
- I can’t believe this.
- How DARE she!
- Oh no she di’int! (Clearly, she did.)
Would
most of you agree that plagiarism is not right? Sure. I’ve got a thread
on Facebook to prove it. But, I knew if I wanted to feel better, I
needed to get to work and replace these thoughts that felt extremely
icky.
Thanks to my pal Jackie Gartman, this is what I came up with:
- No one can steal my work. Not really.
- My
web site copy is just a compilation of words. My real work is my truth,
my energy and my light. That comes from within and backs up what I say
on my site.
And, thanks to my new Facebook and Twitter friend Patti Digh–who had her writing plagiarized on the net and wrote a beautiful article
about it–I remembered that being authentic, and being yourself is its
own reward. It must not feel very good to need to use someone else’s
work as your own.
Now, I am sure you are wondering what is next.
What am I going to “do” about it. This is where is gets good. Because I
have cleaned up my thoughts, I can now take action from a very calm and
peaceful place. I can stand up for myself in an organized and powerful
way now that my thinking is not clouded with ick. It feels good to take
action from a clean place.
What can you do when something negative happens?
- What you are thinking about the situation?
- Does it feel good or bad? Write down the thoughts that feel bad.
Notice how you feel when you think them. There is no up side EVER to
feeling bad. There is no award for being a victim or martyr. Haven’t
you noticed?- What can you think instead that you BELIEVE and that also FEELS BETTER?
- Rinse and repeat.
I love the Byron Katie question, “Who would you be without that thought?”
I choose to continue to innovate, and not replicate.
Rock on, people!
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