Friday, October 29, 2010

Positive Peer Pressure

You've embarked on a journey toward a goal. One you believe in and want to achieve. You tell someone about your dream. That person laughs, asks if you are crazy, rains on your parade and tell you it is unattainable.

Now, if you are a 70 year old and you've just told your wife you're thinking about becoming a circus high wire act despite the fact that you have no coordination then you might deserve the above scenario.

Yes, dreams should be realistically attainable.

If your dream is realistically attainable, and someone in your life says you shouldn't try to attain this dream, then you need reevaluate your relationship with that person.

Tip for the Day: Surround yourself with positive, supportive people as you pursue your dream. 

I wrote about my own journey from solitary writer to writer with a wealth of support here. I've heard the negative comments. One close relative said "you'll never get published" when I told her I was writing a book. Do I share my dreams with her now? No way because I believe I will get that call. But it's more than my own faith in my dream. I want the people in my life to be excited for me because I'm doing something I love. It feeds my soul in ways that I never expected. The end result? Publication? That's just part of the dream. I am living my dream. I am a writer. I write. I am happy because I am writing.

Here's the thing: people who are negative about your dreams and your goals aren't happy so they don't want you to be happy either.

Trust me. I've learned this lesson and it has served me well. I repeat: when someone is mean or nasty to you and rains on your parade it is because that person doesn't want you to be happy and fulfilled.

I am writing because it brings me joy. Sure there are days that I want to drop kick my laptop to the ends of the earth. I get frustrated. I feel the sting of rejection and throw personal pity parties (for a finite amount of time), but I keep on writing because that is when my positive community of support comes into play. These are the people who remind me about how much fun it is to do what I do. They encourage me. They lift my spirits. They make me laugh. They drink wine and eat dark chocolate with me while they tell me YOU WILL SUCCEED.

Surround yourself with positive peers who celebrate your dream and encourage you to keep working hard to attain the prize you seek. These are the people who must be in your world as you pursue your dreams. They are the people who want you to be happy and fulfilled. They are the people who want you to have joy in your life.

And when you reach your dream? They will be first in line to celebrate your victory!

6 comments:

Anne Gallagher said...

That's why I blog. I have so many negative people in my life who think I'm crazy to write...I just tune them out and come to the blogs. There's always a wealth of support here. And if even I never meet any of you, we are all friends, and kindred spirits in this writing business. Great post Christine. Thanks for reminding me I'm not alone.

Christine said...

Piedmont Writer: it takes a village of positive support and this cyberworld is a great place to build the connections you need as a writer.

:-)

Gwen Hernandez said...

Exactly, Christine. Being a realist is okay (up to a point), but one should never smash dreams.

Always a good reminder for me when it comes to my kids too. ;-)

Christine said...

Yes, it is a very important reminder to our children. I think it is also important to let them imagine the out of the box possibilities of pursuing certain directions of study. One never knows where one will land :-)

Wendy S Marcus said...

I totally agree!

Christine said...

Hi Wendy: Thanks for dropping in! I know you're busy right now as you prepare for your debut novel release!! I can't wait to see the cover :-)

Keep dreaming and going for the brass rings!