Assassins are on the loose. Their target? Your dream. This is the third in a series of five Public Service Announcements issued as a warning to be alert to these interlopers. Leading the list of the Most Unwanted are #1 Fear and #2 Envy. Today’s Most Unwanted: Shame.
Public Service Announcement
This fugitive is a serious threat to your dream. Use every precaution. Shame should be considered armed and dangerous.
Shame is like gravity, a psychic force that pulls us down.” Lewis B. Smedes
Physical description:
- Frequent accomplice with Fear and Envy.
- Transforms regret and guilt into self-condemnation. You not only made a bad choice but you are bad.
- Persistently reminds you that you didn’t just fail—you’re a failure. And you’re irreparably defective.
- Prefers to cloak itself as perfection; never resting until it’s attained. (It never rests.)
- Never, ever, ever, receives a compliment without rebuttal (spoken or unspoken).
- Highly creative in discovering new forms of self-deprication and diminishment.
- Hyper-vigilant in interpreting other’s responses (or non-responses) as all about you.
Aliases: Also goes by Fatalism, Self-derision, Perfectionism, Legalism
Precautions: If you know the whereabouts of this Dream Assassin, take the necessary precautions. Shame is opportunistic. It multiplies failure to distract you from learning from it. It’s also self-destructive, feeding on your own vitality. Take preventative measures to keep regret from eroding into shame and inaction. Keep your eye on the One who created you (Psalm 34:5).
What are some other characteristics of this Dream Assassin?
