Choose to Take the Journey

Unexpectedly, I’ve found that the longer and harder I work on my blog, the more frequently and intensely others discourage me. I say “unexpectedly,” because I always assumed that all of my friends would be interested in encouraging me, as doing so would only embolden themselves in the process. Whenever I have supported a friend in their own journey, whether it was going back to school, or getting back into the gym, I have gotten back twice as much by way of my own motivation to be better. Regardless, I got to thinking about how most forms of discouragement arise from only 2 premises. I want to take this opportunity to debunk them so that you will have the antidote to these mental poisons should you need it:

1) You won’t make a difference. This is probably the biggest lie out there. No matter what stage of life you are at, it’s never too early to start paying it forward. You can probably already tell I’m just a regular guy with a lot on his mind, and yet I have had people tell me that my amateur blog writing has changed their lives. You don’t need to wait until you are king of the hill to start giving back to the world. You can make a difference now, today, if you choose to.

2) You can’t make a difference. This is a question of ability. I have known so many people in my own life who are smarter than me, more talented than me, who have had more privileges than me, and yet they have given up on their dreams long ago. It’s true that your confidence should be rooted in your competence. But competence is a combination of talent and experience. If you don’t have a lot of talent, then you will just have to get more experience to compensate. At first this may not seem fair, but realize that learning something the hard way gives you a better understanding, a better map of the terrain, and therefore you will have the knowledge of how to get back to your chosen path should you get lost, or should someone else need directions.

Have faith in your dreams, my dear reader, and encourage yourself.