Dreams and Nightmares
I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine and the conversation turned to dreams and aspirations. He’s frustrated because he feels like no one around him understands his thought process. He describes himself as “someone with talents in numerous areas with no push or inspiration to follow them...like a trail with no light”. You see, he has dreams of being his own boss and running his own corporation. He thinks wayyyyyy outside of the box.We were talking for hours and I couldn’t figure out exactly what his issue was. And then he said something like, “No one has ever believed in me”.
Damn……….
Why is that when people have the audacity to dream bigger than our perceived view on life, we laugh or try and tear them down? The people around us can be the first ones to turn our dreams into NIGHTMARES. I’ve been seeing examples of this all week and had a tough time trying to pen my thoughts on it. Many of our friends and family are full of awesome ideas that never materialize into anything. Why? Because of the naysayers, those who can’t see beyond their own circumstances and have restricted minds. Someone probably told them that they would never amount to anything and that’s all it took for their dreams and ambitions to turn into a nightmare and eventually a life of regret and negativity. I was watching an episode of Girlfriends and Toni was telling Joan that she wanted to open her own real estate office. The first thing Joan did was warn her about the dangers of starting her own firm and to have something to fall back on when it failed. In that moment, it dawned on me that I am Joan. Instead of saying “That’s a great idea, I will support you”, she immediately started questioning and precautioning Toni’s dream. I relate to Joan because she felt as if she was protecting her friend but forgot to be a friend. #MESSAGE. I have done this plenty of times and I apologize to anyone that has come to me with an idea and I first spit out precautions instead of praise!
We have to start encouraging each other: our kids, our loved ones, friends, strangers, and most importantly OURSELVES. Just think of all the children that have grown up believing that they would never amount to anything and that they were not free to be the person they wanted to be. I heard someone say that if they ever had an opportunity to meet Pres. Obama, they would ask him "Who told you that you could be president?” All it takes is a small gesture or kind word to help someone. It’s called “Paying it forward”. Don’t tear down someone else’s dreams because yours has been deferred. If there’s no one in your environment encouraging and motivating you, maybe it’s time to move on. Always remember to encourage yourself first. Here’s a clip from the episode of Girlfriends. Skip to 5:45 and then 15:00 to hear the dialogue between Toni and Joan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXfURKZup4
-grannyBee
