I had a strong urge for some rum and raisin ice cream, so I zipped down to my local Jamaican market to pick up a pint.
Well, there was no rum raisin, so I looked or some grape nut. No grape nut! How about some sour sop, no sour sop! or mango! only cherry vanilla.
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I called out to the store clerk who assured me that a delivery was slated for tomorrow.
Well, I was bent out of shape and gave him a piece of my mind. Before I blew my final gasket, I was interrupted by Guzu, you remember, the Yard Genie.
He tapped me on the shoulder and followed that with a restraining squeeze. “I know times are tough, but should you not be happy for this store that they are moving some products?”
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“You are right” , I relented.
“You are not coping too well with the pressure of the times, are you?”
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“I guess I need some help .”
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“You have the choice of three roles. These are:”
Victim Role;
The Victim is in constant “reactive” mode and avoids responsibility for his/her life, actions and results.
The Victim’s reactions are mostly “negative”
The Victim says… “It’s not fair.” “It’s not my fault.”
Persecutor Role;
The Persecutor is mostly in “reactive” mode and points the finger and blames others for what’s going on in his/her life.
The Persecutor’s reactions are mostly “negative”
The Persecutor says… “It’s your fault.” “Look at what you’ve done.”
Deliverer Role;
The Deliverer takes the initiative and is mostly in “proactive” mode and takes responsibility, ownership and control of his/her thoughts, actions and feelings.
The Deliverer is proactive and the actions are mostly “positive”
The Deliverer says… “There’s got to be a way.”
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” So I have three questions for you.
Question #1: When faced with a challenge, what role are you choosing to play?
Question #2: Are your actions or reactions mostly negative, positive or neutral?
Question #3: How is your role, actions/reactions hurting or helping you?”
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The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitudes – Victor Frank.
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