Are You Giving a Voice to the Wrong People

Not everyone in your life deserves to have influence over the direction of your life.

Stop giving that kind of power to the wrong people.

Stop taking advice from the people you wouldn’t trade places with.

Stop accepting criticism from people who aren’t in a position to hand it out.

I’m a little fired up about this topic because lately I have seen a lot of negative chatter online about the horse industry.

People are talking about how negative other people are at shows. How they trash talk their competitors or up and coming trainers.

I know this happens all the time. I have personally heard people talking trash about me more than a handful of times as I walked by at a show.

It’s nothing new. People are just people and we live in a world tainted by sin.

But just because it is happening, does not mean that YOU have to allow it to sink into your identity.

You get to decide who has influence over you!

There are very few people who I give the power of influence to in my life. That wasn’t always the case though. I used to take advice and criticism from anyone who would give it.

But there came a time when I realized I wasn’t looking for their advice I was searching for approval. And that is about as unhealthy of a behavior as eating candy all day every day.

When you allow other people to decide your value and approval, you will spend your whole life hungry for the next dose of it. Like a sweet tooth that is never satisfied.

Be careful who you give the power of influence to in your life.

Learn to take criticism without letting it devalue you.

Focus on the relationships you have that build up your identity in Christ. Ask for advice from one or two people who are in a position you would like to be in.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Proverbs 13:20 NIV