When others want to rain on your parade
Excitement and anticipation build inside as you prepare to embark on a new challenge. It could be something completely new for you or take what you already do to the next level. In any case, we often have some anticipation of what will be (plus a touch of idealistic glory and accolades).
At some point we tell someone what we are doing. Often in our initial arousal moment, we can tell many people. Suddenly, we are assailed by a flood of reasons why we shouldn’t or can’t. You are too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too smart, too dumb, and so on. It’s not that people are trying to be degrading when they tell us these things. Otherwise. Most of the time, these people care about us and think they are looking out for our best interests.
It is in these moments that we have to bear in mind two fundamental things. Number one, it’s not that you can’t do it, it’s that they can’t or don’t want to do it. It is something that is too far out of your comfort zone to try. They think that if they can’t do it, neither should you. In turn, they will see all the negative aspects of what you want to do.
This brings us to the second thing to keep in mind; they will see important steps and obstacles that you can miss. They could very well provide you with critical information that you would have otherwise missed. They may bring up a point that, if they hadn’t caught your eye, could have set you back months or years and made your challenge far more challenging than it should have been.
When it rains people in your parade, pay attention. Too often when someone squashes our ideas, there is a grain of truth. A truth that could make a difference in the world. I’ve had countless cases in my life where people pointed out reasons why they couldn’t do something. He had a tendency to wholeheartedly ignore them (used to be a bit silly). Finished, they were partially right. In turn, by not listening to what they had to say, he generally paid a fairly significant price in time, money, or relationships.
When you want to go after a new challenge, tell people. But only tell people you trust to give you a good answer. They should question your idea a bit. If you’re feeling a bit annoyed with what they have to say, it’s probably for good reason. PAY ATTENTION.