The Ultimate Trade
- LáShaun Jenice
- Feb 4, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 8, 2019
Trade-In who you used to be for who you are called to be.
Most of us scrolled through our timeline over the last month to see the new social media craze, the #TenYearChallenge. I am guilty, I scrolled and double tapped. I mainly read the comments on the posts and saw the shade and the haters surface. I questioned if I should participate based on a recent conversation that turned to criticism that I believed was inaccurate and nonconstructive.
While reading the comments and thinking to myself, so much criticism, so less positivity. If it were ten years ago, my response would be fueled by emotion and it would make me defensive straight away. The lady that I am today, allowed me to reflect instead of counter-attack. This simple trade in reaction made me look deeper and accept what was stated. Sometimes silence can be so loud. Trust me, I wanted to defend myself, I wanted to clap back, however, the wisdom this person was speaking was really going to help me and not hurt me. Through silence, I found the purpose of this particular criticism.
Contrarily, criticism can quickly turn to shade and hate. Just last month, I achieved growth in my “hater nation”. My success was public, my happiness is transparent and all the haters are doing what they do best. More than likely ten years ago, I would be negatively affected by the shade. I would soak in their words and continuously beat myself up. The lady that I am has grown to accept the words and emulate the total opposite of their words.
Simply put, I never had a hater doing better than me.
Put that into perspective - Haters always have something to say but nothing to produce. They are always moving but going nowhere. And they always find a way to cloud your sunshine and bring thunder to the storm. This mindset trade from bothered to unbothered allowed me to conquer the haters instead of folding and continue to shine publicly - that was what God called me to do (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
Trading in who I used to be for who I was called to be initially made me feel weak and somewhat unidentifiable. In that uncomfortable transition, I found exactly who I needed to be and it materialized while attempting to participate in this social media challenge. I don’t have to prove it to post it (Isaiah 65:1).
I would rather thank God, internally, for growth, maturity, and success without the comments from anyone. Having God’s approval is more than I need and can not compete.
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