As I walked into the class room to teach my weekly class on Life Skills, I was confronted by the tense atmosphere which was unusual. It turned out there had been an altercation just before I came in. A student had called another names, and this had led to a heated exchange.
It was pointless trying to teach under such atmosphere, so I was forced to drop my planned lesson. I decided to tell a story instead, stories are a winner any day.
I shared the story of a very interesting movie I had seen titled 3 idiots, trying my best to make it as concise and appealing as possible to their teen imagination. By the way, if you have yet to see that movie, I think you might as well still be in the 18th century [winks].
I squeezed the three hour movie into about 20 minutes, holding my audience spellbound. I explained why the three friends were considered idiots and how their philosophies though unpopular, led them to success. And I inspired them to chase after excellence and watch success chase them ‘pants down’ as the lead character in the movie had posited.
When I was done, I declared that I was The Fourth Idiot! A din ensued, almost immediately. Of course by the time I finished my story, they had all bought into the idea and were all excited as each one tried securing their place in the idiot list, each trying to beat others to an earlier place. I heard three of them haggling over which of them was the fifth idiot, with claim and counter claim on why he was the rightful owner of the 5th position, meanwhile other students kept calling out, ‘I am the 6th idiot’, ‘I am the 7th idiot’......., as each one sought to find his/her place. The entire class had turned idiotic!
I had them where I wanted them, now I could teach them the important lesson which gave rise to the story in the first place. My point is paraphrased below:
Ordinarily, they would have fought anyone who called them an idiot, but now they all desired to be one willingly! Why? Because I played a trick on your minds to reframe the meaning of the word idiot.
Words aren’t really worth much. It’s not about what is said, it’s about the meaning and interpretation you give to words.
Idiot in one context would mean an insult, however in another context, it is a desired virtue and label everyone wants.
Words have no meaning or power safe the ones you give them. You can determine what words mean to you and as such how you react to them.
And not just words, but any circumstance in life. You need to know you are in charge. You call the shot and stop being at the mercy of circumstances and situations around you. You might not be able to control what people say about you or do to you but you can determine how you react to it.
People are responsible for their words, but you are responsible for the interpretations that you give to their words. People are responsible for their words, but you are responsible for your reactions to the words you hear. Like the quintessential Eleanor Roosevelt said, nobody has the power to hurt you except you give them the power to (paraphrased). When someone uses an unpleasant word on you, or treats you unkind, change the meaning, rationalize it to the positive. When you fail to react like they want you to, then you are the winner, and you retain your personal power.
If you don’t control and determine your reactions to life, you will end up being toss around by people and events and there is only one place that guarantees you as destination – nowhere.
As you face the days ahead, challenges will surely come your way. Decide you'll be the one in charge and not cede ground to external influences. Then you'll realize you are very powerful!
Do greatness
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