Shake It Off

When I was in high school I loved to wear pajama pants.  They were really comfortable, so I would wear them at least once a week.  If you know anything about me, you know I went out and found some of the wackiest pajama pants I could.  One day I wore them to school and when I got to football practice my coach said to me, “I didn’t know today was Pajama day.”  I replied, “It’s not, I just like them.”  The look on his face was priceless.  I could clearly see that he did not agree with my decision to wear my green palm tree print pajama pants.

There are a few thing I have learned in my life.  There are a couple of absolutes that I think will always be with us.  One is that Jesus is a pretty powerful guy.  One is that not much can compare to a delicious bowl of mac and cheese.  The last is that haters gonna hate.  It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do, haters gonna hate.  Every step of the way, haters will be there.  And just when you think you’ve finally turned enough corners that they couldn’t have possibly kept up with you, BAM, there they are jumping out from behind the trash can.  After you hit them with a frying pan, run out the back door into the alley, out into the street, hop over the taxi, and run down the next side road, you think you are finally in the clear.  But no, there they are standing right in front of you as if they knew where you were going the whole time.  It’s inevitable.  You can’t get away from the haters.

It is for this reason that I absolutely love Taylor Swift’s new single “Shake It Off.”  She has been hated on by so many people it isn’t funny (I keep peaking over my shoulder while I am writing this to make sure Kayne isn’t coming to interrupt me).  She took everything that everyone has said and she responded to it.  She tells them I don’t care what you say, I’m just going to shake it off and do my thing.  And let’s be real, she is really good at what she does (except for maybe dancing, but I have no room to talk there).

So when the haters creep up in your life trying to hate on your dreams, just remember that they will always be there.  Just because they are there doesn’t mean you have to listen to them.  Just because they are there doesn’t mean what they are saying needs to hold any weight.  Just shake it off.

There should be a few people in your life that you trust and you can talk to about things.  Those people the ones that you should listen to.  The people who you know won’t steer you wrong.  The ones that you know have your best in mind.  The ones that are lovers and not haters.

But when you are getting hated on, just remember these famous words from Taylor Swift, “The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.  Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.  I shake it off, I shake it off.”

How do you shake off the haters in your life?

until next time…

Photo courtesy of Eva Rinaldi