WARNING

You might learn something

I am often asked by friends and family why I enjoy watching shows like The Peoples Court, Dr. Phil and Iyanla Fix My Life. My response it that I believe there is something of value to learn from these shows. I think most of society is in pain, even though many like to pretend they are OK and that everything is going great in their lives, I think it’s a lie. Even though many of our friends may have the education, nice cars, fancy homes and high paying jobs…you can tell something is missing. Many are in dysfunctional relationships. Maybe they don’t think they are but if each of us are honest with ourselves…we could do better. However, you can only do better when you know better. That is why I love these shows.

You notice my list did not include any of the Housewives of…or the Basketball Wives, Ex Wives or Mob Wives. Although entertaining at times, I doubt anyone is having an awakening or growing spiritually from watching those shows. Even a cast member from Basketball Wives, Evelyn Lozada, has been a guest on Iyanla Fix My Life because valuable work is being done by Iyanla. She’s not going to get help being a better person on her show but Iyanla will definately require you to do the work and to “call a thing a thing.” I think Evelyn has grown a lot from what I can see. We all can stand to have some therapy in whatever form we can get it.

Over the years during my good and bad times, shows like Dr. Phil have caused me to put a mirror in front of my own face. One of the most important things we can do is self evaluation, but it must be honest. Many people are not honest when it comes to self. We can see what is wrong in everyone else except ourselves. I watch these shows because I think it’s important to be open to new information It’s important to look at life not just through our own lense, which is often blurred, but through the lense of those who have made a profession out of helping others. If we were our own judge and jury, would we really convict ourselves or be honest about the punishment we deserve? Of course not, but we are quick to judge others and give our version of correct and fair judgement. Although many go to church and think it’s righteous that God forgives our sins over and over again, we excpect others to be perfect and flawless. WWJD.

I continue to watch these shows for the same reasons that we bathe and brush our teeth daily, things get real funky when we don’t. It is something that I think deserves our attention daily. I don’t care if you went to therapy once or twice in your life, odds are you’re getting funky and could use a refresher course. We don’t have to agree 100% with these people who make a living helping others. You may criticize them and think it’s all for TV. The reality is they are just like the rest of us except they have decided to put the work in to attempt to give us something to think about. We should think about our actions on a daily basis and be open to hearing “another way” from those who have spent years focused and devoted to their craft. We’re all doing the best we can, but are we really doing the best if we fail to grow and continue learning how we can be better people. It’s often said that “I’m only human” How true that is but let’s stop using it as a crutch and do better because we want to be better.

I learn a lot from shows like The Peoples Court, Dr. Phil and Iyanla Fix My Life. There are some great shows on that offer an escape, but you can run but you can’t hide especially from yourself.