We Dressed Up As Santa's Elves And Strolled The Town! (This Is What We Learned)

My brother and I dressed up like elves and spontaneously pranced around our local shopping center the other day...

Our purpose was simple:

We wanted a challenge that would push us outside of our comfort zones.

And as elves, our obvious mission was to find santa and spread excellent amounts of holiday cheer.

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Our Elf-perience

While we didn't find Santa Claus that day, what we did find was a plethora of experiences!

Some people smiled and laughed at us.

Some looked concerned and confused.

Some people thought we were hilarious.

Some thought we were just crazy.

Some let us know we couldn't dance on the escalators.

Some let us dance in their stores.

Some people kept giving us hugs.

Some said we should be giving them money.

Some people asked for pictures with us.

Some asked us for brand new Mercedes Benz's

Some people would try to get rid of us.

Some would do elf stunts with us!

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So Many Experiences To Choose From

After all the shenanigans were over, my brother and I were reflecting upon our experiences.

My brother remarked,

"It's crazy how many different responses we received. Some really didn't like us... others really loved us!"

We were both surprised at the variety of interactions we received.

It seemed as though everyone had their own expectations, rules, and ideas as to what we were and what that meant for them.

Although there were a LOT of positive reactions, we did experience a fair amount of interactions that challenged our elf agenda...

When we were challenged, often times we were told "you can't do that" or "you're being disrespectful by acting in that way."

These statements made me question my actions... but as I took a second to reflect on it, I realized that nothing I was doing was wrong.

For these individuals, I was simply not living up to their own rules and expectations as to what a shopping experience should be like.

I started thinking about our own responses to these interactions and asked myself,

What if we had just accepted what people were saying as facts? What if our first few interactions had persuaded us to act in a particular way? That could have changed the entire experience!

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Setting The Expectation

In our day to day lives, most of us are not often interacting with dancing elves when we go out to the mall.

Since this experience is rare yet also in season, it seemed as though there were no clear rules as to whether or not this experience fit into societal norms.

Thus, we were given the choice to choose what our experience meant to us.

When we first walked into the mall we started dancing and a lady who was shopping ran over to us and said,

"You cannot be doing that here."

We playfully acted confused and asked her if she had seen Santa...

"No I have not but you can't be doing those things here."

This lady was convinced that we were in the wrong and was very firm about her convictions.

We could have accepted her statements as the truth and acted more normal.

I will say that it was tempting to do so!

But then in the next experience we were hugged and encouraged to be more of our elf selves!

And that felt like so much more fun.

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The Choice Was Ours

So I began to realize, that the experience was entirely up to us.

We chose whether or not what we were doing was acceptable.

We chose whether or not we were there to bring fun and joy.

We chose whether or not the experience was going to limit us, or liberate us!

With so many opinions and reactions coming at us left and right, we were receiving a myriad of experiences to choose from.

As we focused more on the experiences that were loving and fun, the easier it was to be loving and fun.

We started to create our own rules and expectations.

And in that moment I learned something very important about myself:

I am merely the product of what I accept to be true about myself in the moment.

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We Are Always Choosing

This experience taught me a lot about myself.

I learned so much about how the world can influence my choices and actions.

You may never choose to dress up like elves and prance around town like we did.

As much as I would truly recommend it, it's most definitely not necessary in order to partake in similar experiences.

How often do we let the reactions from others limit who we are?

How often do we let the rules and expectations of another affect our own?

How often do we accept judgement for trying things a little bit differently?

In my own experience - a lot!

The fact is, we always have a choice to choose whether the responses we get are valid... or not.

With so many different opinions, ideas, rules, triggers, and expectations - we couldn't possibly ever please the world.

Nor would we ever want to!

Some people will never like people who respond joyously.

That certainly doesn't mean it's not okay to be joyous!

Thus as I reflect on my experiences, I am excited to remember the truth of who I am.

I am whoever I choose to become.

The experiences that I focus on and accept for myself, are the experiences that I will continue to invite into my reality.

When I ignore the suggestions that do not serve me, I create space for the ones that do.

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Choose Who You Are, Leave Out The Rest

As you move forward this year into 2018, remember the truth of who you are.

You are what you say you are!

You are what you know to be true for yourself!

You are what you accept to be true!

The world around you may agree or disagree.

Reward you... or scold you.

Love you... or hate you.

Either way, you'll always experience a bit of both.

But you'll always get more of what you choose to be true for you!

So choose wisely.

Choose boldy.

Choose what you know to be true for you.

And you'll discover a magical world...

That is of your own creation.

Happy Holidays from the North Pole (Milwaukee) Steemit Friends!

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Watch The Full Montage Here

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