I took this picture almost 10 years ago and published a blog about negative influences in our lives. My memory of this blog was triggered when I recently had to remove a negative influence from my life — a person who always brought drama and unnecessary intensity to every situation or conversation. I felt drained after every encounter, and it became clear that I wasn’t helping to elevate them. So, back to this funny skeleton picture…
I remember when she pulled up beside me, all I could do was laugh. To this day, I still wonder what she was doing with this full-scale skeleton riding shotgun in her car. Seat belt on and wind blowing through its bones.
That funny skeleton picture isn’t just a visual gag — it’s a playful nudge to ask ourselves an important question.
What about the people in our lives who make us feel like skeletons? You know, the kind of people who drag us down, suck all the oxygen out of the room and wrap us up in negative thoughts and conversations. Yeah, those skeleton makers. How often do we give rides to these energy killers and collected a trunk full of bad vibes? Let’s find more riders who bring joy, positive energy, and snacks along for the ride. The more we fill our car with positive influences, the less room we have for negative ones.
Now let’s do a U-turn and ask who are the skeletons in our lives riding shotgun, secretly wishing we’d notice them more? Think about it — are we unintentionally buckling them into our drama and surrounding them with clouds of negativity? It’s also easier than we’d like to admit to make someone feel like a skeleton just by being distracted or not showing up fully for them when it matters most. So to keep our backseat free of skeletons, let’s capture those moments where we can tune in, put distractions aside, and make others feel seen and valued.
Maybe that’s cutting it too close to the bone, but we must say NO to those who drag us down and YES to those who build us up. Life is short, and we shouldn’t waste time riding with negative influences, and hopefully, we are bringing positive vibes to those who ride with us.
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