Negativity has a way of hardening us. We stifle our feelings when something upsets us, so the world won’t see our perceived weakness. We justify away not helping someone in need, because we don’t have enough money, time or patience to help ourselves, let alone anyone else. We numb ourselves from bullying, failure, anything that brings us pain — and over time, that resistance becomes a plaque on our mental wellbeing.

I’ve come to refer to it as my “barnacled heart.” These little noes* start out as armor, but they wind up holding me back from truly living. From being the real me. So every few months, I’ve got to stop and scrub the barnacles off.

And every once in a while, you witness something that cracks that hardened shell right off. It stops you in your tracks. And fair warning, you may get all blubbery. But that’s a good thing.

OneRepublic’s “I Lived” video did that for me. I always loved the song, but seeing the video gave me those creaky, hesitant tears in the corners of my eyes that made me want to recommit to living more wholeheartedly. (Yup, I realize how treacly that sounds, but I stand by it. Feeling > Cynicism, all day every day.)

 

This is the first post in Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, interview, song or article to inspire you during the workday. 

Photo: Still from OneRepublic’s “I Lived” video

 

*Yes, I searched “plural form of no” to double-check this. And apparently how you pluralize “no” is hotly debated. In the end, “noes” appeared most often, which led me to think: Noes is real?! You shocked me, Internet.