stop or go??

How many times have you not tried at something, maybe either because someone had a different opinion about what you should be doing or didn’t think it was do-able? OH FOR SURE I HAVE. A bummer, I know, but let me remind you although I am completely brilliant, I'm no superhero :) I can very happily say however, it hasn't happened for looong time. I was talking about this with a friend the other day who was panicking because she was backing out of her dream job because her father had made some comments about her abilities. He illegitimately said they were lacking. I wish he could see her in action in the classroom, but this was an obvious blow to her spirit and when she told me this, I even felt as if I had been hit with a stick smack across the chest. What a deflator for her, right? But then on second thought...WHAT A MOTIVATOR!!

See, my friend is so lucky because now she has the extra incentive and motivation to go full-sprint after this job to show those out there, particularly her dad, that she DOES have the ability. And who is to say she can’t or she isn’t up to it? Give me a break -- it is really easy to criticize and point out the faults or the shortcomings when you aren’t actually the one starring in the experience.

But it is so hard to toe that balance between putting on your blinders and going after what you really want while also listening to those important people around you. I guess also how you define “important” matters too. Who do you listen to—your friends? Your family? Someone who has been in the field a long time? And how do you make that distinction and how do you do so consistently?

My answer is this—that you just learn how and who to listen to as you go, trial and error, see what happens. This, so far, has worked for me. It will be different for others of course, and they have to accept that. Sometimes it will be easier to create the balance while other times you just have to close your ears and go for the gold, you know? Sometimes when I feel a little unmotivated, it is even the best medicine to go ahead and let someone in on my future plans and dreams -- particularly someone whom I know will be a bit more cynical about the way life works. Little do they know that instead of advising me onto the "right" path (their path), they are in fact pushing me further along on the one I truly WANT to be on. It's my life, right? Well, then it's my happiness too. You don’t want a life where someone who “has everything figured out” walks ahead of you beating the bushes with sticks to scare the monsters out. That wasn’t the right way to say that—what I mean is, to a certain extent you want to be able to have the freedom and opportunity to make your OWN mistakes and see what's ahead and what happens. Some of my “best” mistakes have come about that way and later turned into the most amazing opportunities of my life. At least, that’s the perspective I choose to have.