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Pick up your cross
and deny yourself.
YUP! It's a biblical reference, Mattew 16:24
The Bible states this as a reference to following Jesus and having faith so that focusing your life on others can improve your life and the lives of those you love.
Deny yourself! Why in the world would you do that?
The more a person uses words like “me,” “I, “and mine,” increase a person's susceptibility to anxiety and depression. This is due to focusing our energy on the past or the future.
When you deny yourself, you focus energy on others, building and creating a better world.
Connection with others creates a refined sense of self-awareness. You see how you interact, interpret how you are perceived, and learn what it takes to maintain such a connection. This cyclic dynamic allows one to rely on real-world feedback rather than on one's imagination, fears, or faulty perceptions.
Creation: as our connection grows, we transition into the creation phase. Here, we unite and work in unison to make or put together a time, object, or perception that feels as though it may be accurate. This creates and maintains the connection and keeps it as such.
Contribution: what do we do with the creation we made from the connection to increase the value of life for the world and others?
The denying of self can be fulfilling for us and those with whom we are in contact.
Travis Knowlton LCSW
