It doesn’t take long before cynicism becomes your second skin.

And, in an environment where everyone is out for their own gain, who can blame you?

You have to protect yourself from getting used and hurt, as much as you can. While this makes sense and in some ways is necessary, there is a spiritual cost to it.

A chronic attitude of distrust makes it very hard to receive.

When you protect yourself by not being able to receive, you block the flow of life’s blessings coming toward you. You close down and shut out and your first response is No. You become chronically defensive in your life.

Now, I know the reality is that there really aren’t many people you can trust. And there is always a need to be wise and perceptive and see beneath the surface of things. Protecting yourself is necessary and healthy.

But you aren’t always in danger.

Not everyone is bad and self-seeking.

Life can surprise you in ways you don’t expect.

You see, the difference between having a healthy self-defense and being a cynic, is that the first one lets you make decisions about people one at a time, while the second is a generalized belief about all people.

I am a firm believer that you get what you look for in life.

You can find anything you want: it’s all there. Bad, good, ugly, beautiful, cruel, kind. Where you place your focus is what you’ll mostly see.

And you get what you expect. If you’re a cynic, you expect people to be untrustworthy, self-seeking, and to use you.

You expect to not be valued as a worthy human being.

If cynicism is your dominant energy, you will attract people you can’t trust.

But this isn’t just about what you attract. This is about who you choose to be in this world. It’s about the energy you bring.

Your energy matters.
You are responsible for the energy you bring to this world.

You can be wise, discerning, say no to people your gut says are untrustworthy, while still bringing an energy of positive trust and generosity to this world.

You can hold a general belief in the goodness of humanity, while still protecting yourself against the bad ones.

And, when you shift your energy to be life-giving, you attract people in your life who match your energy.

But more so, you become someone who is grounded in the energy of generosity, and the fear of being taken advantage of, used, and hurt diminishes.

You know that no matter what happens to you, you will be okay. Being who you are in this world — moving from the energy of love, generosity, trust, faith, power, courage — becomes more important to you than anything else.

Some people call it moving from the energy of higher compassion. Compassion is wise, it sees through the surface of people’s fear-based motivations, and lets you relate to them on an authentic level. It breaks down people’s scarcity beliefs and helps them reconnect to their true inner power.

You have the power to be a life-giving force in this world.

The choice is yours.