I found this video by Jordan Molotsky and just found it too entertaining not to share. His message is to not be afraid to follow your course (or worry about what others might think).
This got me thinking about how we are often influenced by fear of what others might think and how that can be such a paralyzing and stifling place to be.
Unfortunately, we are likely conditioned to the behaviour of not overcoming fear at an early age. I remember growing up how some parents were just so protective of their kids and how they forbade them from doing so many things…Funny, this also became the subject of a dinner conversation last night at my friend’s house. We were 5 couples celebrating my good friend’s 40th birthday and we had a great spread of barbecued red snapper, trout, 2-inch thick pork chops and butter-marinated sirloin (I had never tried this and couldn’t believe how tender it was – but that’s another story). Anyway, none of us had our kids with us last night which is always refreshing to have some stimulating conversation and we got to talking about the perils of being too strict or coddling as parents and how it can (and does) backfire as kids become rebellious, fearful, and/or secretive.
Now I’m not going to start a diatribe about the right way or the wrong way to parent, but the point I do want to make is that we as parents play a huge part in the psychological development of our kids and if we try to protect them or shield them from harm too much, we may end up doing them a disservice later in life because they will fear harm or failure and as a result, become risk averse.
Let’s face it, there are risks when you go after your dreams. There will be people who will not understand your drive, your motivation, or your desire. There will be people who will try to dissuade you or who will shoot you down. There will be obstacles, there will be hiccups, there will be challenges.
The person who has the drive AND who is not afraid of making mistakes – but rather who overcomes their fears, chalks it up to experience, learns from it, and keeps moving forward is the one who will succeed.
If we are conditioned to not fail or are isolated from risk as children, we are certainly at a disadvantage when it comes to taking that journey to a purpose driven life. So don’t blame yourself if you have fears, it’s completely normal. Just be sure to acknowledge them, understand them, and then work on overcoming them.
Some food for thought. Let me know what you think.
