I have big ears that stick out.

I have heard (no pun intended, well actually, pun intended!) every joke about ears you can think of. “You get XM with those things?”, “loved you in Dumbo, your performance was incredible”, “can you hear when a lady bug falls on a leaf dude?” I could go on and on.

When I was a kid, I used to get so upset when people made fun of me because my ears stuck out. My parents even offered to take me to a doctor to get them surgically pinned back.

I still get bugged all the time, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. I just learned to love my flaws. I didn’t pick them before I was born. It’s not like the creator allows you to select all your physical traits before you come out of the womb. You get whatever hand you’re dealt. Play your cards right, and nothing can harm you.

It’s not just physical flaws that can become the object of a bully’s insult, but it can also be mental flaws. Or even nicknames.

We all know somebody who had their life ruined because a rumour was started about them. It could be true. It could be completely fabricated. It could be a touch of both. It doesn’t matter.

How you react is all that matters.

Imagine you’re a kid in grade school, and during a game of truth or dare, you were dared to kiss somebody. Instead of going through with the dare, you chickened out and started crying. The story gets told, and for the rest of your life you are known as the kid who cried because you were shy. What narrative do you want to carry?

Being an empath, I well up thinking about the girls in my high school who were called sluts while being virgins. The kids called lame who had to work at a young age to help support the families. The jock who missed the game tying shot who started self-harming to cope. Bullying is a harsh thing and if I could eradicate one thing from the world, it would be that. (More on that subject in another article).

In the end, you can’t control what people think or say about you, but you can control how it makes you feel and how if affects you.

Hey, if you wet your pants in the second grade, you can carry that with you for the rest of your life and be called “damp shorts” forever, or you can laugh at yourself and say “yup, just didn’t know the strength of my own bladder yet.”

In the movie “She’s Out Of My League”, there is a character named “Stainer” played by comedian TJ Miller. His character tells a story about how he got his nickname. You can probably connect the dots there. To paraphrase, Stainer explains that the main character Kirk, played by Jay Baruchel, told him to own the nickname Stainer so nobody could hurt him with it. He changed the perspective on his own nickname.

Look away kids, because I am going to tell a story similar, and it gets a little more adult.

For some reason, my friends high school just decided out of the blue that they were going to start calling me BBD. BBD stood for Baby Dick. So sophisticated I know. I hated it. I can tell you it’s not easy to find a girlfriend when you are known as the guy with the small penis. Why did this bother me so much? Well, it’s because I knew I didn’t have a small penis.

I was tortured with insults and teasing and bullying for something that I knew wasn’t true. Why did it bother me so much?

The only way it could hurt me is if I let it. So when my family members nicknamed me Gherkin for the same reason, I just rolled with it.

In fact, I adopted the name in my fantasy hockey league and added a masculine touch. GHERCULES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay kids, you can come back now.

I have a cousin who is a country music singer. His name is Aaron Goodvin. Check out his artist page here. Also, please enjoy his new single;

I distinctly remember one moment that stuck with me about his rise to stardom. He was a contestant on a TV Show called “Plucked” on CMT Canada. The judges were trying to rattle him and asked him if he had a backup plan if music didn’t work out. He responded saying “he has never had a backup plan.” Cue the dramatic music and the looks of dismay on the judge’s faces.

He was told he didn’t have what it takes to make it. He didn’t have the right look. He didn’t have the right voice. He wasn’t capable.

What if he listened?

Throughout your life, you will be faced with these crossroads in your life. Are you going to listen to what people say?

Deep down only you know your full truth. Your inner voice can be your biggest critic, but it’s nothing to be scared of. If that inner voice is saying you’re not good enough, it’s because you are saying you’re not good enough. If somebody tells you you’re not worthy and you agree, you’re telling yourself you’re not worthy.

However, if you are told you are not good enough and your inner voice says that you are, you are good enough.