Look the world straight in the eye!
“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”
This is such an empowering quote from the incredible Helen Keller.
Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness as a young child yet, with help, learned to read and write. She then went on to become the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree and ultimately an American author, political activist, and lecturer.
In 1915, alongside George Kessler, she founded Helen Keller International to assist soldiers blinded during their service in the First World War. This link will tell you more about Helen https://www.hki.org/helen-kellers-life-and-legacy/and the following paragraph is lifted directly off the website.
“Helen Keller is known the world over as a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Yet she was so much more. A woman of luminous intelligence, high ambition, and great accomplishment, she was driven by her deep compassion for others to devote her life to helping them overcome significant obstacles to living healthy and productive lives.”
When I saw this quote, I posted it on my Facebook Group – Manifest Your Dream Job and Transform Your Life – a page I set up during the first lockdown to promote positivity, generate interaction, encouragement, and support amongst members.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/manifestyourdreamjob
The concept of the group is simple in form, and the content generally evolves around a question and a quote to get you thinking for the day; the interaction generated usually creates an interesting dialogue. Hop on over and join our wonderful tribe!
The outcome of finding and posting this quote has been interesting to observe on many levels.
Firstly, the quote itself is so empowering! To me, it says stand in your own authentic truth, be yourself, operate from a heart-centred perspective, and your strength will radiate out from you – and more will be attracted by return. What a great way to feel. And when you think this has come from a woman who could neither see nor hear, it is underpinned by even more power.
If she can feel this way – so can you!
Once I’d posted the quote into my group, I went on to create a LinkedIn post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sarahjnaylor_motivational-inspiring-coaching-activity-6732216303882514432-xG4c
This has generated more interaction, as well as this blog post, which has in turn sparked my interest in learning more about Helen Keller, hence the information and links that I have added to this post.
I would like to share some of the comments from my LinkedIn post about the quote:
“Great quote from a lady who achieved a great deal in her life! We all have a great deal to proud of – even though it may not feel like it sometimes, particularly if we get immersed in the society narrative or social media idea of ‘perfection’! I do think we don’t often take the time to congratulate ourselves or recognise our achievements as much as we should!” Pam Edwards
“What a fabulous quote, Sarah! I only discovered recently that Helen Keller was deaf and blind but still became an inspirational speaker. What a woman! If Hellen Keller can say that, we have no excuse!” Suzanne Suthers
“Be proud of who you are and what you do.” Ton K Silver
“I love this – Helen Keller inspired me as a young girl and still inspires me now.” Nicola Harker
What an incredible lady indeed!
The quote is undoubtedly inspiring, so it’s not surprising (to me) that having found it and posted it on Facebook and LinkedIn, it has worked its magic for me in other ways. I’ve sustained the momentum of writing a variety of material, including this blog post, and in doing so, discovered a new routine that I can put into place to make my daily and weekly social media interaction work more smoothly.
I am standing in my power, holding my head high, and looking the world straight in the eye when I write and post anything. They are my words and I stand by what I say, and in doing so, I am always mindful as to what I say and how I say to ensure that it reflects me and the way I see the world.
I am constantly reviewing and changing my behaviour to make things run more smoothly.
After all, we aren’t our behaviour, and we can change our ways, overcome obstacles, stand in our own truth and be proud about who we are – and what we can offer to the world.
How will you look the world straight in the eye today?
