Breakthrough Moments

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they are inspired to do something.  Often times, however, someone else is there to rain on their parade by doubting them.  When you’re a kid, the world is your oyster, but for some reason, cynicism tends to creep in as we grow older.  Of all of the four-letter words that we learn as we grow up, I believe that the one that is most destructive is the word – “can’t.” We would all be better off if we spent our time encouraging others (as we do with children) rather than trying to tear them down with negativity.

As a parent of young children, it is pretty common to hear the words…“When I grow up I want to be a …” No matter what the answer is at the end of the sentence, my response is always positive and encouraging, telling them that they can be whatever they want to be if they put their mind to it.  Is it always realistic?  Of course not, but that doesn’t mean that children should be discouraged.

For example, my son’s favorite sport is football.  He talks about wanting to play in the NFL someday.  While it is possible, it isn’t very likely.  When you factor in his genetics, he’s probably as likely to become a real-life superhero as he is an NFL player, but I don’t tell him that he can’t make his dream come true.  It would serve no purpose other than to discourage him from trying to be his best.  As we grow up, we are not afforded the same luxury.  People feel free to openly express their doubt in the hopes and dreams of others, even when their opinions were never solicited in the first place.

We have two choices as we pursue our hopes and dreams.  We can dream big and be undeterred by the negativity of others, or we can allow our dreams to fade away by letting fear and the doubt of others dictate our actions.  Personally, I’ve made the choice to dream big.  I am willing to use the inevitable setbacks that will occur as a valuable learning tool to help me to reach my goals.  I am NOT willing to let the doubt and negativity of others stop me from pursuing my dreams.

Pursuing big dreams in the face of fear and doubt is not easy.  It takes work to keep picking yourself back up again after each setback.  As Winston Churchill said – “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” If you truly believe that success is going to happen, a breakthrough moment will eventually occur, although the timing of it cannot be guaranteed.

In part 2 of this post tomorrow, I will share a true story about the timing of Breakthrough Moments…