Demeaning and pathologizing people’s choices

Nametagscott
3 min readMay 24, 2017

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Keep the shit at shoe level

We all do what we have to do to keep the peace inside ourselves.

Whether it’s a private ceremony, a magic object, a daily practice, a dopey mantra, a motivational exercise, a weird habit, a bizarre compulsion or an obsessive tendency, there’s no need to judge ourselves.

If that thing supports us in making our lives feel less difficult, if it allows us to carve out our own little corner of dignity, if it provides us with a safe haven from the whirling chaos and madness of the rest of the world, and if it helps us reduce our inner turbulence and maintain the continuity of our existence, then it’s worth doing.

No justification, explanation or rationalization necessary.

Keeping the shit at shoe level is a lifelong task. It takes a metric ton of thought power.

And so, we have a responsibility to direct compassion and kindness inward. To save some acceptance for ourselves.

But also to extend that same understanding to others. Because what may appear on the surface as a dysfunctional way of dealing with emotions, might simply be that person’s healthiest and most helpful way of keeping the peace inside themselves.

I have a nurse friend who works hospital hours, which often requires back to back overnight shifts, followed by back to back daytime shifts. It’s massively fatiguing. She rarely has a consistent schedule, struggles to organize her time and often feels disconnected from friends and family members.

And so, she takes sleeping pills. Not compulsively, and proudly, but not begrudgingly either.

Because it’s one of the few effective ways combat the insomnia associated with odd work hours. And although it personally makes me nauseous to even think about taking sleeping pills, I’m still empathetic to her struggle.

Because people do what they need to do to feel the way they need to feel. Whatever it takes to keep the shit at shoe level.

And we owe it to each other to have compassion for myriad causes and conditions that lead people to act as they do.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you demeaning or pathologizing people’s choices, interests or expressions because they’re unlike yours?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

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Nametagscott
Nametagscott

Written by Nametagscott

Author. Speaker. Songwriter. Filmmaker. Inventor. CEO/Founder of getprolific.io. Pioneer of Personal Creativity Management (PCM). I also wear a nametag 24/7.

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