Write down the 5 nicest things anyone has spoken about you before you read any further. It could be a compliment, an appreciation, a prediction, a hope expressed, a special reference to quality/ talent/ behavior and / or just congratulations on something achieved. Now introspect about how often or frequently you have been bestowed these encouraging feedback. If you have written down/ outlined all of what you were told to do above you are ready to read further for you have just displayed your ability to believe in yourself and leverage that ability to discover the ‘power of the individuality in you’
Almost all of us have been subjected to warnings, cautions, threats, discouragement and also perhaps heaped insults, more often than the times we got praise, encouragement, appreciation and respect be it from well meaning parents, siblings, friends, teachers, peers or superiors. The most common negative feedback we get begins in childhood when we are regularly told NOT TO do this or that thereby retraining our natural child like curiosity and the ability to freely explore and discover. In school days we are constantly berated to study, score well, aim for the top spot and regularly exhorted to excel in every endeavor. If we did not have the natural ability to excel in academics as reflected in the formal examination results we dreaded the resulting tirade and learned to be deaf to the unrelenting criticism. At the same time, we didn’t dare pursue out other natural talents be it painting, singing, dancing, sports etc. for we were constantly reminded that our future lay in academic excellence.
Yet despite all these limitations, most of us learned to enjoy our pursuits, unconsciously discover our potential and indulged in our passions without seeking approval of parents or teachers or elders. This is a result of the flowering of our individuality. Our uniqueness lies in us being able to chalk out a personalized roadmap for ourselves, our ability to shut out the negatives and foresee the success that awaits us. Often we have to grapple with our own self doubts, overcome our lack of confidence, deftly maneuver through occasional failures and regularly rediscovering ourselves. Yet many of us hesitate to completely surrender ourselves to our inner cravings and natural urge mainly because we cannot see ourselves fitting into the expectations of the world around us be it our family, friends or society. As a result we take great pains to adapt, mould and fit into what we believe the world expects us to become whilst we are being suffocated, hurt and subconsciously fighting to be set free.
Now look at the list you wrote down when you began reading this post. Ask yourself what you have done to justify the faith expressed in you and your potential. Have you been able to latch on to the encouragement, the faith and the abilities that others expressed in you? Do you still believe that the real you and your unique individuality can be showcased to the world? What is it that you can do, that you can ecstatically embrace, get passionately involved in and help you stand out and be noticed. Isn’t it time now, that you stop living someone else’s dream and instead give expression to your individuality?
Action Points:
- Can you outline the various career choices that you thought about in your school days. Are any of those choices still something that excites you? Is it practical for you to still pursue it today? If the answer to the last question is YES, go on and start working on attempting that choice in the next couple of months.
- Find out more about people who have achieved something notable despite having these limitations
- Being blind
- Being physically handicapped
- Being illiterate
- Being orphaned
- Being mentally challenged
- Being a midget or dwarf
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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