Every ambitious man or woman arrives at a point which could deem the whole quest for success pointless or pivotal. This is the intersection of redemption and vindication. Redemption is the restoration of one's own reputation after one has damaged it themselves. Vindication is the restoration of one's reputation after other people have damaged it. On this road to success, a person may feel the need to be vindicated. This need may even be the motivating force that drives them to accomplish one achievement after the other. Then the inevitable happens. On every significant journey a person takes, they come to a crossroads. What they do in that quantum moment will determine the trajectory of their life. They can continue assigning blame which builds a prison from which they will never escape or they can face their shadows and admit that they really seek to redeem themselves.
Seeking to redeem oneself can be quite the tricky task. This process requires sincere humility to find the power that enables him or her to acknowledge their faults. If he or she lies to the reflection in the mirror long enough, they most certainly will mislead themselves into believing that the guilt and responsibility is everyone else's to own. Yet, there is an extraordinary empowerment that opens pathways which only comes forth when the soul owns up to its mistakes. Nothing can be withheld from a person once the person opens up their mind to the flood of wisdom. The humble person who seeks redemption accomplishes much more throughout a lifetime than the person who simply seeks vindication.
Redemption is personal. Private. Sacred. “Those who know don’t say. Those who say, don’t know (Lao Tzu)." If you say that you are working on yourself and changing for the better, it simply means that the other person did not notice from merely observing your behavior. Actions speak louder than words. With this in mind, it can be dangerous to confide in a person about your personal journey to right your wrongs. They could use the opportunity to exploit your weaknesses and make you feel inadequate. Humility is not inadequacy. This is why I reiterate, seeking to redeem oneself can be tricky.
Putting yourself down or allowing others to do so is still evidence of a haughty personality. It takes a judgmental person to put someone down including the self. If you welcome the subtle jabs of judgmental people, you agree with them on attacking the self. However, if they never know about your intentions to transcend the irredeemable traits of your character, they have nothing of value to attack. Resist the urge to invite others to judge your personal development process. There will always be people who see you as too arrogant, especially if you reject something that they specifically offered you individually. The same can be said of those who will always accuse you of being too humble. Self-reflection, introspection and soul-searching will always be more powerful than being vindicated by man.
Thank you for reading.
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