Category: Humanity

Season 2 : Episode 1

Topic: “The Comparison of  Mental Health Disorders To Society”

Season 2

Introduction:  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Welcome to the World in Black and White this is Michelle and I am the narrator and creator of this podcast. I am grateful to begin Season 2 discussing Borderline Personality Disorder with you and giving some helpful strategies that might make a positive difference for those living with BPD.

Vision: My vision for the second season of “The World in Black and White,” is that this season includes interviews with mental health experts, discussing life with some willing & kooky friends, as well as adding some forced commentary from my family members. I mean, why not?  Those dealing with mental health disorders usually surround themselves with some pretty interesting & entertaining people.  I want those listening to this to receive a dose of hope and possibly some useful strategies that help direct them towards a healthier path. I aim to achieve this in a manner that inspires others to choose a place of self awareness and authenticity. I hope to create a space here that allows all people to shed their mask, and to listen without fear of rejection or criticism.  Alright, let’s go to that place that arouses self-awareness and acceptance… This is The World in Black and White!

So I was just having a conversation with my older brother, and to give you a little background on that relationship, he and I both served in the military as Chaplain Assistants from 2001 to 2005. We were both recruited on the same day, but he was still in braces and had to complete his orthodontic treatment before he could be sent to basic training. 

My brother is only 3 years older, but I have always seen him as a much older and wiser person than myself, partly because of his kind and calm demeanor, but also his ability to look at specific problems and respond with biblical solutions. He has been there for me through some very tough times, and I just want to be sure that you all hear the genuine respect I hold for him as an individual.

Our duties were the same in the military, we were responsible for setting up the space to hold religious services. We would also provide administrative and combative support to the chaplain when necessary.  I began telling him this morning what my topic for this week’s podcast would be. That I would be making a comparison of what society has experienced over the past couple of years with having a mental disorder, (specifically Borderline Personality Disorder.) He then asked me,  “Have you heard that they are going to bring institutions back to place “crazy people” in that go against them?” 



So I felt it important that I get this out, because well… They might lock me up soon.  I just want to say that what I am trying to get out to others will probably be censored or flagged as misinformation, all that I am sharing today are my own opinions and comparisons… Well most of us know, once you have been labeled as “crazy”it is hard to remove that label or to have other people take you seriously. 



(1st)

Ok… Ladies and Gents, humor me for a minute and imagine society as one being. Lets refer to humanity now as “Gertrude”  and poor Gertrude has just recently married a man that no one really knows all that well and we only know that he has a lot of mystery in his history. 

Within no time, we see Gertrude that had once been a happy and free spirit,to a recluse, unable to go to any social gatherings.  He was hiding her away.  The only reason he gave was that she was not well and had to stay indoors for her “health.” 

Then the man she married all of a sudden begins to strip her of her ability to speak on her own behalf, answering every question she was asked with a scripted answer from a “higher authority”  Gertrude’s friends became concerned for her well being, but knew that there was little that they could do for her.  So they did nothing and said nothing. He would now be the one to make all of her decisions for her, because he said that he knew what would be  most suitable for her. Gertrude by this point had been convinced that she was also going crazy, because that is what he would say to her anytime she disagreed or questioned him.  During this time, Gertrude was given a test result that now showed that she was positive for the “deadly virus” .She was told that  the only hope of surviving this illness was to take a jab that hadn’t been fully tested or risk the possibility of succumbing to this “novel” illness. 

Gertrude discovers that because of her time living in a toxic environment she had officially started to question her own sanity. She knew that she didn’t like the environment, but found it impossible to run away from it, his toxicity had permeated everywhere, those that she thought were friends, had turned their backs to her. Believing his narcissistic lies, over her truths.   


So… Here is Gertrude truly experiencing gaslighting, coercion, loss of autonomy and identity.  Gertrude shows how one can develop a mental health disorder living in an intentionally toxic environment. Gertrude is trying to separate from this mysterious man at the moment… So we shall have to wait and see how the story plays out, but I hope we can agree that Gertrude needs to move along on a new path.  

(2nd) Inspiration for the story…

So for the past couple of years we have all had to make some pretty crazy concessions or lifestyle modifications to simply survive the infected landscape that covid provided. It birthed chaos and complexities onto our simple reality, the events that occurred as a side-effect of covid have been tremendous and unlike any many people had ever experienced.  

I immediately started to notice that there were some striking similarities between the elected official handling of the events and a highly toxic environment. They were delivering a lot of insulting remarks to people that questioned them and continued to offer one-sided demands without possibility of discussion or debate. (Let’s just say I was quite familiar with this dance and it immediately stood out like a red-flag to me!)The intention here was to make the individuals that questioned  their motives appear to be crazy, it also frightened others from speaking out. No one likes to be labeled as crazy, it reduces their thoughts and opinions to nonsense, even if it isn’t.  This very same thing happens in Narcissistic relationships.

The similarities that I was quick to notice, were the insults towards those that questioned provided guidance and information, as well as the blatant disregard for human immunities or liberties.  The other red flags were the simultaneous attacks on our rights, more specifically the right to free speech and the right to bear arms.  At this very same time, we were dealing with a global pandemic, which turned out to be a “designer illness” waging an attack on everyone’s physical health.

 Being a veteran of war… I felt we were being attacked on multiple fronts, I was only aware of two specific attacks at this time, one being the psychological and the other being biological.  I was arriving at these conclusions based solely on my feelings and prior experience with toxic relationships, but it was evident to me that something bad was at play.  Which led me to write the story about Gertrude. (*disclaimer, I am not referring to anyone bearing the name of Gertrude.) Have a Nice Day!











Alright it’s time for our Byte of Insight

I am just going to make a few comparisons from this story to mental health. So in the story you heard gaslighting, I’ve put a definition on my blog. Michellefightsbpd.com 

This definition was provided by google


Gas·light   *definition provided by Google Dictionary.

/ˈɡasˌlīt/

verb

gerund or present participle: gas-lighting

  1. manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.: “in the first episode, Karen Valentine is being gaslighted by her husband” “we are being gaslit about our health on a grand scale by these people”.



The second comparison to mental health is when you survive a toxic environment for a while you start to develop ways to cope or survive that environment. So while it may seem that society or Gertrude was just going along with everything she was simply just trying to survive, but she was surviving in an environment that was intentionally toxic. And so we need Gertrude to get out of that environment and to see for herself that there is a healthier path, a healthier way to live her life. 

So the story for Gertrude may seem a bit familiar and I have even left many events out of the story.  The villains in this fairy tale chose to instill fear, to replace her logic center with an”other perception” and that  “following safe guidance” would save her life, that the removal of her personal autonomy would now be replaced with a new and more effective governance that would keep her alive.  

My conclusion: Society has developed a mental illness without any hope of a cure.  Well just like Borderline Personality Disorder doesn’t yet have a cure, I don’t truly believe that there isn’t a cure.  Or that those dealing with BPD actually need to be cured, but rather their toxic environment needs to change.  I believe that there is, and the elements that bring us closer to that healing have always been; truth, goodness, and love! I am uncertain why society or Gertrude in this instance had to endure emotional, psychological and physical abuse, but I am sure that we are all trying to recover from enduring a very toxic relationship over the past couple of years, and that we all put blind faith and trust in an entity with evil intent.  No matter what name we bestow onto society at this point, I personally wanted to acknowledge that we were gaslighted and ridiculed when we questioned their motives.  I am still holding onto hope that we can yet again achieve peace and real health & that more and more people become aware of the root of this mental illness and to combat it with truth, compassion and understanding.  

Announcements:

I moved my dates to air the podcast to Monday, this gives me all of Friday and the weekends to record, edit and add if needed. This will be every other week.  SO be looking for the next episode the following monday.  So start looking for the show to air on Mondays, we all need a reason to like Mondays just a little bit more.  

We have another Guest Speaker on the calendar and is set to air in February, which is perfect because I have loved her positive take on Borderline Personality Disorder.  She has held roles as a mental health supervisor, suicide crisis counselor, psychotherapist, art therapist, and trainer to therapists and coaches. She is an author and you can find her literature when you visit her site eggshelltherapy.com  WE are certainly excited to be adding her to our upcoming schedule. 

Closing: Thanks so much for tuning in we have come to the end of the podcast. What did you learn? Who can you share this podcast with? If this resonates with your spirit or makes you think of a certain someone that has experienced similar issues in their life, please share this with them.  I believe mental health is something that we are overlooking on a massive scale and in order for people to heal we need to be able to speak about this openly and honestly.I hope you are excited about Season 2 of “The World in Black & White”  and until next time choose truth, goodness, and love. 


Crisis Help Line: If you are dealing with matters of life that have left you feeling defeated or overwhelmed, I want you to know that sometimes we are able to lift each other back up to fight again.  If you are currently in a place of troubled thoughts, please don’t waste another minute and just reach out.  There are people that want to help.  Please call 988 to speak with someone that can help you find necessary resources or listen to a person that simply wants to help you through your current situation.  

What happens when a person calls 988?

Those who call 988 will hear a greeting message while their call is being routed to a local crisis center within the Lifeline network, based on the caller’s area code. A trained crisis counselor then takes the call, listens to what is being said to get a better understanding of how their problem is affecting them, provides support and connects them with resources as necessary. If a local counselor is not available, the person calling will be routed to a national backup crisis center. Longer term, the system is intended to link 988 callers to community-based providers who can deliver a range of crisis care services, including mobile crisis teams and stabilization centers. 

If texting makes you feel more comfortable please text 62640 (between the hours of 10am-10pm ET)
If you are currently in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 | Text “NAMI” to 741741 for 24/7, confidential, free crisis counseling | If calling 911: Ask for a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officer

New Year, New Expectations

One of the things I’ve definitely learned in life up to this point, is that the only person you can truly have expectations for is yourself. Expectations for the person with BPD can lead to many explosions and disappointments.
I’ve learned that to expect someone to behave in a way that is pleasing to you, well it’s just not realistic.
Having expectations for any other individual (one exception maybe being your children) can often leave you feeling gutted (empty) and miserable(depressed). Almost a quarter of a century ago I remember making some smart-ass comment to my mother… “Don’t have expectations and you won’t be let down.” Quite a feisty comment coming from the mouth of her teenage daughter.

I think she said something about cleaning up a mess her pup had made after the pup had torn up an entire roll of paper towels. My mom had been at work that day, and when she walked through the door, she said “I expected that you would see this mess, and take care of it!” She was right to say that, as she is my mom… but I also saw this particular situation as not my responsibility because it wasn’t my dog.

This back & forth of vocalizing our expectations actually led to me being thrown out of her house. I was 16. Thankfully, It didn’t leave me homeless, I lived with my dad & I was only there that Friday to visit for the weekend. Long story short, we eventually got over it and had a proper discussion about it.

Now I see the ways I could have handled myself more appropriately. However many, many lessons had to be learned in order for me to see the error in my ways and change my bitter & spiteful attitude. I really should have cleaned up the mess, not because it was her expectation, but because it was the right thing to do.

After all of those lessons, I have learned that I don’t try to teach my children to meet MY expectations. I show them the expectations I have for myself that will hopefully lead to me becoming a better human being, and I openly talk to them about choosing appropriate expectations for themselves as well.

You can always communicate your expectations for the people in your life, but it is still up to that individual to accept those expectations as their own or up to you to find out what expectations they may have already established as their own.

I’m starting this year off by being intentional and realistic with my personal expectations. I will not look to others to meet my expectations because they have their own. If I find myself expecting something from someone I will pull back and readjust my perspective to seek understanding rather than to be let down by unmet expectations. Happy New Year to my beautiful BPD warriors! Let’s expect it to be great!

Fighting BPD…

How real is this statement in your life?

“The chronic emptiness and lack of identity. I am a ghost, stitched together with fragments of those I’ve known throughout my life. I pick apart their personality, and create this sort of ugly Frankenstein…I, even at the age of 26, still do not know who I am or what I like/dislike. There’s nothing more harrowing or isolating.” —(from themighty.com)PwBPD Yasmin A.

Bless you Yasmin. Thanks for sharing this. It touched my heart in a way I didn’t expect. I hope the following words help those that feel the same way.

I just want to share some positive thoughts about these “BPD things” we do flawlessly & without any real effort to do so.

Yes, we are fragmented in our emotions, we had to resort to this to survive, because we are highly sensitive to the emotions of others. We tend to absorb reactions, all of them (even the ones that haven’t happened yet.) Which means we often pick up the slightest differences in someone’s mood. We feel let down when others can’t do this for us as naturally as we do, and sadly we need it a lot.

Yes, We mirror in order to be received by our POI (person of interest) who was so intriguing, that they were able to awaken our curiosity. They in one way or another offered us a new & different approach to the world.
You allow yourself to absorb the parts of their personality that attracted you to them. During this process we may find some parts we don’t approve of or we may even attach too much value to the little bit of attractive personality they offered us. Either way, we tend to discard them because to love someone fully is painful. We understand that they don’t love like we do on a cellular level.

We will sabotage any relationship either to test the durability or to get them to move on.

Yes, we love big & we shower our POI with all the attention and love that we are just wanting to be reciprocated. A matched intensity.

We aren’t the bad monster in this world. We aren’t the “Frankenstein” unless you are consciously choosing to cycle through these emotional hurricanes without taking inventory of what it is you are actually seeking .

We were broken at times in our lives when we should have been protected. Our high sensitivities to people and situations was established on a subconscious level to protect us from further harm.

We are able to survive most any situation and get a long with any type of person.

We wear an emotional blanket that we have “stitched” together to act as an added layer of protection from the world that taught us early on that you need to be many things in order to make it out alive. (So we absorb various personality traits.)

You aren’t the monster. We have been trying to find the most useful personality, because at some point in our lives we received the message that ours wasn’t enough.

We have a lot of emotional sensitivities that allow us to persevere through intense & tough situations, not to mention doing all of this with an intensity and passion that can make other’s heads spin

We are highly perceptive to what the needs of others are, because we were conditioned to take care of the external & surrounding chaos at some point in life.

People that have been involved with a PwBPD would love to paint us as the monster, but maybe we are just mirroring & exposing all of the things they would like to remain hidden. We become what they aren’t pleased with and when that picture settles and the image comes through they “feel” that we have somehow changed them or abused them. No, in most every case we take the intentional beating and intentional abuse in order to protect others. I have learned, the toxicity I dish out happens after I have had my fill of disrespect or complete disregard of my thoughts or opinions. I honestly believe That those suffering from a brain disorder has taken the blame for too long.
I’m now no longer fighting the world. I’m fighting my brain for control. I will no longer let my innate and toxic defense mechanisms rule my life. They are kept in check by fiercely and persistently staying present.

Be a monster if you have to, but realize the war for you is internal.

(I’m now seeking me!) I’ve given every person I’ve ever met the opportunity to show me something good.

The better we are at seeking our authentic selves. The more equipped we arrive to the battle.

Life is a struggle, we were trying to live it by seeking comfort in a world that doesn’t understand how uncomfortable we are all making it. Thinking that we should seek comfort is one of the first lies we need to eradicate from our beliefs. Get uncomfortable, we aren’t monsters… We are fighters! Love you Yasmin, and anyone else that is fighting a battle!

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fears, Mine & yours live within.

Mine, over time have combined and multiplied.

Fear can only live in the place without light,

It persuades you to give in, then surrender the fight.

I journey deeper to find what lurks there in the dark.

I see a long train tunnel, it is absent and cold.

Photo by Aleksey Kuprikov on Pexels.com

My mind warns, “stay where it’s safe, do not go.”

My soul urges my spirit to go deeper, into the black.

Darkness has one job, conceal

Concealing my false from my real.

There is some value to be gained here, my spirit feels

I calm myself a bit, wait for my body to stop shaking.

The words written on these walls, exposing.

It appears someone has tracked all of my mistakes.

So what? I messed up, what difference does that make?

I feel the vibrations of something in the distance

My fear reappears to offer stubborn resistance.

Is someone driving this train?

I grab ahold of the last train car, and pull myself inside

I feel the train is moving slower now, down to a steady glide

Why did my train suddenly slow down here?

My final destination isn’t fear.

Within the darkness my fear takes hold

One thing is clear, to leave this place, I must be bold.

I rise and dust off the negativity

Realizing this new sensitivity

to myself and my power

Photo by Tuur Tisseghem on Pexels.com

I make my way through the train,after thousands of hours

I know I must make it to the front of the train

If only I could get this desire to move to my brain.

allowing my spirit forward, breaking free from my paralyzed state

I must reach the light, it is where I will meet my fate

Photo by Alexander Zvir on Pexels.com

Fear, Mine & yours live within.

All souls must struggle with sin

Spirit knows it can’t be kept in the shade.

I’ve found her, she is so bold and unafraid.

Her light is my light

Parts of who I was, exposed by the light

Exposing my dark traits so that my spirit will survive.

Stepping into the light can be a terrifying fear

That is also where you must steer.

Turn your way towards light, it shall set you free

Surrendering your truths leads to victory

An ongoing spiritual battle

is also our eternal war.

To win, we must lose.

And battle no more!

After living in darkness & wrestling with my demons daily…

I am strong enough now to handle the light!

Surrender to the largeness of who you’re becoming.

You Aren’t “Awake” If You’ve Agreed To Be “WOKE!”

Let’s pretend you have just been “woke up” well that means your present status is no longer “woke” it would now be “awake.” You can only be “woke” if you are still sleeping. So let us all wake up for a moment, and check in on reality for a bit.

Some people will never wake up! Others will only wake once the blasts of war become the alarm clocks as explosions are happening all around them and their families! Don’t be that guy/girl!

The purchased/orchestrated media would like everyone to believe that “wokeness” is spreading throughout the veins of our country at supersonic speeds. This is simply not true, they have only created a decoy or distraction for us to focus our attention on while they continue to dismantle our country. The main issue we have as a country, the one that needs to be resolved, is within our own governing body. That issue is greed.

Our main issue…

No matter what side of the aisle you have decided to stand on, that side is no longer working for the prosperity of our country or its citizens any longer. They are only motivated by personal prosperity. Most of our so-called civil servants have been bought and paid for, which means they are not our servants any longer, but serve another master.

How many crimes do you see?

More and more citizens are becoming aware of the many violations and crimes that have already been committed by the over extended & the intimidating reach of our government . Dr. James Hollis said “We are governed by politicians whose survival as politicians depends on stoking those fears.” They need a fearful mass of voters so they can keep up appearances as the only ones bold enough to stand up and protect the citizens. It turns out that this is all a show. The only ones we need protection from are their greedy asses. In recent years, it has become more than evident that they are not protecting us, but they have sold their allegiances to the highest bidder.

This is not uncommon. Ask Captain Jack Sparrow.

Many people are realizing that we all have more in common now than what they would have us believe. Most people I have encountered, are for tolerance and inclusion. The ideologies pushed onto us by this administration are telling good people to tolerate and include immoral & even predatory ideologies . Awakening Americans are discovering one major commonality right now, and that is we are all under attack. All of humanity must resist this tyrannical movement of evil. How do we resist?

I feel these simple steps will prove to be the path back to goodness.

Step 1. Start with pointing out right from wrong. Do your best to choose more right, than wrong. Choose truth over deception, and goodness over evil.

Step 2. Is more than difficult to accomplish, but absolutely necessary to become what we need to truly win over our enemies. Love! Love everyone! Create a desire within yourself that hopes & believes that others will flourish.

Step 3. Share your honesty and wipe fear from your vocabulary. Be bold and specific with your words, they are powerful.

Step 4. Remove yourselves from the mind control of social media, our souls have been consumed with nonsense. Get back to nature.

Step 5. Place the highest priority on teaching your children how to sustain life, and talk to them about the importance of family.

Step 6. Each person should take a deep look on the inside before accusing the world of being a terrible place. We all have the ability to make the world a better place, we just need to accept that as one of our own responsibilities.

As a country and on a global scale, the people should make it clear that we are smarter than what they report on the news. That we were born into this world as autonomous beings, with God-given authority over our own lives. Most people given the choice of living under someone else’s authority or their own, would choose to be self-governing. They are hoping to stoke the flames of division and instigate a war between “conservatives vs. liberals.” We are wise to your playbook, thanks to history and brave individuals risking their lives or livelihoods to bring about clarity and awareness to the absolute corruption that has been presiding over us for longer than we would care to say out loud. Yes, we are going up against an evil opponent, but that opponent is not “the left” or “the right.” We need to activate our memory and hone in on survival skills. Speak to your neighbor, and break down political fences. The many injustices that have befallen humanity in just a few years must not continue any longer. They want to keep us divided because UNITED we are strong!

Like an “evil virus” purely focused on destroying our immune systems. We should now know that this specific narrative was designed to destabilize every system that sustains our way of life. This destabilization or “invocation of chaos” has cursed all of us, each and everyone, in every part of the world! All of us!


“That of which we are not aware, owns us.”

James Hollis, PH. D.

How will we fight anyone with a weaker more sensitive military force? One of my favorite modern scholars, said something like this and I’m paraphrasing…

The answer to chaos isn’t order, but love. Love is simply wanting other beings to flourish.

Dr. Jordan Peterson

His words aren’t hard to comprehend, but imagine a world where everyone did comprehend the meaning of wanting all beings to flourish. I want you to flourish. I work daily to flourish. I teach in order to help others flourish, and the chaos we are experiencing now makes it hard for anyone to flourish. We must remember that when we interact with people that may express opposing opinions or ideas, to stand firm in TRUTH.

Their mission seems to be clear, tear apart the systems that make America a great place to exist. They have also forgotten that the critical mechanism that makes America magnificent are it’s people, especially it’s patriots.

I’m curious how much longer we will tolerate this corruption within our system before we launch our own vaccines against this virus called “wokeness”

 {Wokeness - symptoms that may occur if you are combatting this illness may include, but are not limited to; believing mainstream media, confusion,  believing propaganda over fact, unable to see fact or understand logic, sleepwalking, sleep talking, never answering direct questions with any honesty, and lastly still saying everything is fine, because now someone is using your preferred pronouns.Rare instances of gender confusion may occur}
“Wokeness” may look something like this—>Vice President Biden nods off while former President Obama tells a story.

I believe anyone left in this country that has been able to look beyond the veil will tell you, this isn’t an administration that has the best interest of our country in mind. I’ve been wrestling this present illness everyday and have concluded that the most effective prescription that will eradicate “wokeness” is a huge dose of truth (light). Darkness retreats from the light. A splash of presence/awareness of mind/body/spirit. We are in the middle of a war, not just on the American way of life, but life in general. It seems anyone that speaks up to warn other people, are silenced. I’m on no other media platforms, so if I’m silenced here, the censorship has made its way to the blog space! The amazing thing about truth… it will always find its way to the surface.

Here is the truth, there is no prevailing racial injustice. There is just an overall tide of injustice, and it’s sweeping over our entire world. Historical legends are rolling over in their graves right now, sickened by the present condition of their country. Fallen soldiers (brave biological men & brave biological women) are asking why the America they fought for would so easily relinquish their liberties? Why? We have seen liberty struck down for an entire nation, these adjustments were made to appease a group of delusional people & these new adjustments to law, are in fact limiting the individual’s autonomy & their personal decisions over their body and what can be allowed/permitted to happen to them as a “free” individual. Individuals have been denied medical/religious exemptions for vaccines. This meant these individuals that refused the jab based on personal medical reasons or religious beliefs risked losing their livelihood, for their choice/right to not consent to an emergency authorized drug. All were told that letting them go would be the next course of action, if they didn’t do what the government mandated.This eliminated freedom for many, as many didn’t do as they were told, as they stood their ground their grasps clenched even tighter to the rights expressed in the U.S. Constitution. Now more and more people are waking up!

Nuremberg Code

When people agreed to take an ineffective shot, one that does not live up to it’s hype, they relinquished (surrendered) their own immunities (liberties) for a false sense of security. In fact, many have died after receiving the shot, and some might even conclude that it was the shot that killed the person. We have seen liberty struck down time and time again as any & all facts challenging mainstream media are removed from social media platforms. A child’s right to be an innocent child has been stolen in some parts of the country, and the few parents that were “awake” to fight the evil were then persecuted publicly with biased coverage, and then put in a state of fear by their own government calling them “domestic terrorists” This label slapped on them simply for standing up to protect their children from a very real danger in America. The danger; the inability to discern fiction from non-fiction, the false from the truth… so since some may still be in the dark, let’s choose to wake up and stop them from changing the definition of everything in our reality that relates to our biological makeup & our God-given rights.

Everything our government has offered the American people as far as “leadership” has not created any positive changes. They enhanced the chaos in our lives to come in and say, “do what we tell you to correct the chaos.” The main thing they should do is excuse themselves from telling people what to do with their lives. Quit forcing things into our bodies that we don’t need or want. Quit placing themselves as the final authority in our lives. That role has already been filled, and we are not accepting any further applicants.