[2023-03-09] Not welcome at my table
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post called Who sits at the head of your table? It was based on a metaphor that a trainer had used in a learning session in which I had participated years before. She said that we all have a board of directors in our heads, each member representing a version of ourselves. We allow different people to assume the role of chairperson at various moments.
When we permit a killjoy to sit at the head of our table, we can struggle to turn off their nasty noise and to replace it with more balanced messages from positive members of the board.
But it can be very difficult to silence the critics in our minds. I've always made use of mantras to quell destructive voices. In a recent conversation, my daughter and I came up with this countering statement: "Unkind people are not welcome at my table." We could repeat the statement any time the nasty voice started spewing their venom.
It's a helpful mantra that I didn't want to forget.
