Facing the Bully

“Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one's

definition of your life; define yourself.”

– Harvey Feinstein

Actor

A topic covered in Cub Scouts many times is that of bullying.  We want the boys to know how to deal with bullies and not to allow them to keep them down.  As we get older we think that the bullies in life go away.  I am sorry to say they do not, they just change form and tactics.

                Success-minded people are all to failure with the bullies of our age.  They are the ones who try and stop you from achieving of your goals.  They can be in our family, workplace, church or among our friends.  Adult bullies often hide behind a mask of concern, caring and a desire to "help".  However they disguise themselves the end result is still the same, the discourage us from the achievement of our dreams.

                Let's look at a few of the ways that these people can get into our lives, bully us and how we can effectively stand up to them.

They fill us with negativity

                These are the bullies that are always telling us what will not work and how things will never work out for us.  Some say they are just looking out for us, however, they are never encouraging or believing in what we do; just filling us with their negative thoughts.

                The best way to deal with this bully is to remain positive and fill your mind and heart with positive things.  In fact, when these bullies come around you should be extremely positive and tell them how great life can be when you have a dream you believe in.  Positivity repels these bullies like garlic to a vampire.  They will walk away because they cannot stand being positive for too long.

They discourage you from taking chances

                Anyone who has had a dream and stepped out to achieve it know the person who is just waiting to tell you that it is too risky and you need to be careful.  They try to fill you with fear of all the things that could go wrong.  They always have a story of someone they know who ventured out and was destroyed but the desire for a dream.

                You greatest weapon is the dream you have.  Build on it and allow it to burn into a fire of passion.  Remember that taking risks is the only way that success is ever achieved.  Let the bullies know that you may indeed fail, however, if you do you will get up and go for it again.  As American scientist, Grace Hopper said, "A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

They work harder for our failure than their own success

                Success-bullies have this strange drive to see us fail.  In fact, they do more and work harder at seeing us fail or quite than they will at achieving their own dreams.  This is the saddest part of these bullies.  They have no ability to encourage, see the best in others.  The world is clouded by their own sense of failure.

                Help these bullies see that they too can be a success.  Encourage then to believe in their dream and let them know you believe in them.  Encouragement, kindness and a truthful, "I believe in you" has changes many a bully into a successful person.  It never hurts to try.

                You matter!  You matter to the world and to yourself.  Remember to be your best, love God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.

John Patrick Hickey is an author, speaker, Life Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2014 John Patrick Hickey