Should I live in fear and regret, or should I learn by trial an error and face disappointment and criticism?
Should I listen to what others have to say or should I follow through with what my intuition tells me?
I wonder how may times in our lives we are facing these questions?
Actually, allow me to rephrase.
What does it take to stop asking ourselves these questions?
I know all of us have things we would like to do and are afraid to act because of what others would say if we do so. I know I did and sometimes still do. However, we have to remind ourselves that nobody is “paying our bills” so why should we let them influence or decide what is best for us. Strength and experience comes with sacrifice and there is not one successful person out there that got where he is by following what others had to say and living as they told him he should.
I had my part of experiences so far with this and would like to share it with you. Hopefully you will find it at least interesting if not inspiring.
I want to recall several moments in my life when I decided to follow through with my decisions despite the criticism and lack of support from the people around me: family, friends, work colleges, etc.
First moment was when I got involved in an MLM company. Ohhh did I get pushed around and laughed at. In the eyes of many of my friends and even my family I was just another fool being brain-washed by their system and acting stupid. God do people know how to put you down and discourage you.
The problem however is not with them, well they are part of it actually :)), but the main problem is US. Once we allow ourselves to be affected by the opinions of others and don’t have the courage to stand up and fight for our right to experience and learn, well I guess we deserve it. Life has some twisted ways of making you stronger and unless you are aware of it’s methods you will probably always subside and go back to the start and thus never experience the joy of the finish line.
The reason why I am talking about this is because I am aware that I would never be what I am and where I am today if it wouldn’t have been for those experiences, the lessons I learned and the disappointments I faced in the period I was involved in that company. Today I am not actively being involved but I am still the product of the system and I am proud of it.
Second experience was when I decided to quit my second job. Had been working for two years with that team and had had a lot of extraordinary experiences, learned a huge deal of things and got the chance to apply the knowledge I accumulated while reading and going to seminars. I am truly grateful to the opportunity and to my team, but sometimes you just have to let go. Just to be clear, I did not quit my job for another offer. No, I had quit because I had taken some bad decisions, trusted people I shouldn’t have, didn’t see the company going where I thought it should, so I wasn’t happy anymore.
Living a very well payed job, with no backup plan, just a crazy idea of wanting to do things differently is not easy. Some might even consider it stupid. Again the “support team” was doing it’s job.
However, just a couple days after, the sun was shinning again on my avenue. I felt free like never before. I had time to think about myself and what I would like to do with my life and where I would want to see myself in several years.I starting reading, going to the gym, spending more time with my girlfriend, got some reflex-therapy sessions, went to seminars and events.
Two months passed like that and I was beginning to get used to it. Than came another decision making moment in my life: moving to another country to continue working there and jeez what a change that was. Let’s just say I felt life was trying to crack me upon to see what am I made of.
There is of course a happy ending to this. I am currently doing very well for myself, earning more money I had hoped for when moving to Paris, working with awesome people, putting my ideas in practice and studying to become a certified coach.
Until recently this year I had never given those experiences a lot of thought. It was only when I started talking about them to people and got feedback that I realized what tremendous lessons had I learned. I than decided to share my experience in helping others to find the power within to brake through similar rough times. I now I was influenced and touched by similar stories.The lessons I would like to share with you are:
- 1. When facing difficult times and dealing with hard decisions, when nobody seems to understand or support you, simply don’t give up.
- 2. If you want a better life for you and your family you have to be willing to work for it.
- 3. Simply trust that better times are waiting in front of you, just expecting to reach them.
So don’t waste your life following somebody else’s presumptions of good or bad, nor search for the answers in someone else. The answers are always within you and the only way to get them out is by asking yourself the appropriate questions.
More on this subject in a future post.