Are there people in your life that you just plain old can’t stand? 🙅‍♂️

Like, they have some serious moral deficiencies?

Does everything about these people provoke an array of feelings from irritation to downright anger and even hatred?

You may secretly hope one day they’ll just move on with their life and you won’t have to deal with them anymore.

That way, you won’t have to compromise or “bite your tongue.” 🤬

In short, you won’t have to deal with those triggers anymore…

But, what if I told you that those triggers won’t disappear?

That you’ll just find someone else who will make you feel that way?

Or—something more out-there—what if that person you’re thinking of right now might be the ‘good guy’ in your story? 🤯

If you’re reading this and immediately feeling turned-off and thinking “no way”, I’d like to introduce you to a natural defense mechanism created by your Shadow Self.

The Shadow is the part that contains all aspects of ourselves that we don’t want to admit to having. 🛑

It’s composed of repressed desires, concepts, weaknesses, fears, instincts, and shortcomings.

It forms out of our attempts to adapt to cultural norms and expectations and manifests as negative, often automatic, unintentional, and unconscious responses to events, people, and situations. 🎭

One may act defensively, become impatient, resist change, manipulate others, or act territorial and aggressive.

According to Carl Jung, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

Everyone carries a shadow. 👥

The sooner one can accept that the sooner they can begin to explore theirs.

One way to do this is to stop blaming others; welcome the idea that everyone is your mirror and apply that idea to all your relationships.

This way, when you feel strong emotions that seem to be out of place, you can begin to reflect. 🧐

“Why am I feeling this way?”

“What part of me is making me think this way?”

“Is this real, or is this a limiting belief I have?”

When you can identify the reason behind your emotions and why you’re feeling them, you can accept them. 🔔

When you can accept your emotions and why you feel them, you can begin to accept yourself.

When you can accept yourself, THEN you can begin to work on yourself. 💪

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I change.” — Carl Rogers