Grace's quote from last Friday spoke to me with a message I really needed to hear, and sums up my feelings nicely, in it's simplicity. "If someone rains on your parade, poke them in the eye with your umbrella." Don't let their negativity or lack of support tarnish your head space.
If your dreams are too big for those around you, it doesn't mean there's a
problem with the dream. Just prove them wrong.
If they aren't in your corner, cheering for you, be your own hypeman. As Oprah once said "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."
No matter what, don't dull your shine for anyone else.
Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Friday, 6 February 2015
Sway
"Don't let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you're crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you're lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you're greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn't understand" Unknown
A friend who is a great traveller, was pregnant, and she mentioned that after the baby was born, they were planning to go away. She paused and looked at me, waiting my reaction. I, of course, asked where and enthused at how great it would be. She breathed a sigh of relief and said "You're the only person that said that. Everyone else keeps saying 'Having kids will clip your wings' and really negative things like that." I commented that cost of kids clipped your wings - that extra airfare, the extra accommodation if you aren't allowed to cram into one room, but the kids themselves? They love it!
Why do we humans jump so quickly to squash other people's dreams? How much is it out of fear for us, and how much is out of a sort of jealousy, that if their life is not what they wanted, neither should ours be? If it's based on fear, they will eventually come around to the idea. If it's jealousy, then they'll never be swayed. Caution is not the same as fear. Listen to reason, think things through but don't heed the naysayers.
In hip hop, there are plenty of 'in your face!' songs, where they retell of how many people told them they would fail, but look at how successful they've become. There is a lot of 'if I can do it, when the world was against me, so can you - just don't listen to them'. I think it's really positive, and a great message. To try and fail is far better than to never even try. When they tell you that you can't, say 'Watch me!'.
If your dreams are too big for those around you, it doesn't mean there's a problem with the dream. Just prove them wrong.
"Laugh at me and walk away. While I stand my ground, I know your thoughts will sway." Luke Garner
(Linking this old post with #FortheloveofBLOG because this week's post has a linky attached for First of the Month Fiction. What drives me crazy is how quick people are toy tell us that we're no good at something, that we'll fail, that their thing is better, that they're no point in trying, and what drives me crazier is how quick we are to believe them. Well, not anymore. bud! )
A friend who is a great traveller, was pregnant, and she mentioned that after the baby was born, they were planning to go away. She paused and looked at me, waiting my reaction. I, of course, asked where and enthused at how great it would be. She breathed a sigh of relief and said "You're the only person that said that. Everyone else keeps saying 'Having kids will clip your wings' and really negative things like that." I commented that cost of kids clipped your wings - that extra airfare, the extra accommodation if you aren't allowed to cram into one room, but the kids themselves? They love it!
Why do we humans jump so quickly to squash other people's dreams? How much is it out of fear for us, and how much is out of a sort of jealousy, that if their life is not what they wanted, neither should ours be? If it's based on fear, they will eventually come around to the idea. If it's jealousy, then they'll never be swayed. Caution is not the same as fear. Listen to reason, think things through but don't heed the naysayers.
In hip hop, there are plenty of 'in your face!' songs, where they retell of how many people told them they would fail, but look at how successful they've become. There is a lot of 'if I can do it, when the world was against me, so can you - just don't listen to them'. I think it's really positive, and a great message. To try and fail is far better than to never even try. When they tell you that you can't, say 'Watch me!'.
If your dreams are too big for those around you, it doesn't mean there's a problem with the dream. Just prove them wrong.
"Laugh at me and walk away. While I stand my ground, I know your thoughts will sway." Luke Garner
(Linking this old post with #FortheloveofBLOG because this week's post has a linky attached for First of the Month Fiction. What drives me crazy is how quick people are toy tell us that we're no good at something, that we'll fail, that their thing is better, that they're no point in trying, and what drives me crazier is how quick we are to believe them. Well, not anymore. bud! )
Monday, 9 June 2014
Just do it!
We live in a world where we want change but constantly just accept the status quo. We don't really try to change things because we say to ourselves, 'what can I do, I'm just one person?'
I was listening to Freakonomics and they were talking to Nancy Wexler about Huntington's disease. She said, on her mothers struggle to cope with being diagnosed (and the onset of the disease) "I think the only thing that really saved our entire family is that my father, being totally brilliant and optimistic, said, “Well, you know, let’s just find a cure.” So in 1967, our family started the Hereditary Disease Foundation. Curing Huntington’s has turned out to be vastly more difficult than we thought. But I’ve been working on it ever since 1967." (Full podcast transcript here).
I love this attitude - that when faced with adversity, a person can just say, 'well, let's change it." At a time when people didn't know much about Huntington's, he didn't see it as an impossible feat, just something that needed to be done, and he set about doing it. Both daughters have carried that flame on, and more can be read here, for those interested. However, my purpose is purely the attitude, not the remarkable work done by this family.
What holds us back, in many situations, is our decision to not do something about it. We want to be a writer, but we don't bother to write the novel. We want to change the political situation but we don't take to the streets. We want to help the poor, but we don't volunteer our time. We have a hundred reasons not to do something, when we really only need to do ONE thing.
So next time you hear yourself holding yourself back, limiting your potential or throwing an idea in the 'too hard basket', just think of the Wexlers or Aki Ra. There are people that make a difference, they just aren't people like us.
But there is absolutely no reason we can't be people like them.
(Image from FB but I can't remember where - if you tell me I'll add appropriate credit)
Linking up with EssentiallyJess for IBOT.
I was listening to Freakonomics and they were talking to Nancy Wexler about Huntington's disease. She said, on her mothers struggle to cope with being diagnosed (and the onset of the disease) "I think the only thing that really saved our entire family is that my father, being totally brilliant and optimistic, said, “Well, you know, let’s just find a cure.” So in 1967, our family started the Hereditary Disease Foundation. Curing Huntington’s has turned out to be vastly more difficult than we thought. But I’ve been working on it ever since 1967." (Full podcast transcript here).
I love this attitude - that when faced with adversity, a person can just say, 'well, let's change it." At a time when people didn't know much about Huntington's, he didn't see it as an impossible feat, just something that needed to be done, and he set about doing it. Both daughters have carried that flame on, and more can be read here, for those interested. However, my purpose is purely the attitude, not the remarkable work done by this family.
What holds us back, in many situations, is our decision to not do something about it. We want to be a writer, but we don't bother to write the novel. We want to change the political situation but we don't take to the streets. We want to help the poor, but we don't volunteer our time. We have a hundred reasons not to do something, when we really only need to do ONE thing.
So next time you hear yourself holding yourself back, limiting your potential or throwing an idea in the 'too hard basket', just think of the Wexlers or Aki Ra. There are people that make a difference, they just aren't people like us.
But there is absolutely no reason we can't be people like them.
(Image from FB but I can't remember where - if you tell me I'll add appropriate credit)
Linking up with EssentiallyJess for IBOT.
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