If Your Environment Isn’t Conducive With Your Goals; You Will Die!
That’s right I said it! Primarily to get your attention, but also to make a drastic point! To be clear I’m not the expert when it comes to fish. However, the picture used for this article doesn’t take an expert to catch the message being conveyed. The goldfish is jumping from the polluted water of the city to the clean water of the beach. Meanwhile improving their environment so there will be progress. Doesn’t that sound so simple. I mean my nieces and nephew could understand that concept. However, we struggle to advance and progress in our environments knowing that it’s not congruent with our ambitious. We become frustrated, we throw temper tantrums, we curl into the fetus position; instead of simply uprooting and moving to something better.
Although it sounds so simple it’s still difficult to do. We invest time and energy into things so at some point we just demand that something happens. I remember when I was younger and was riding around with my older sister and best friend. She was taking us to the store to get get a video game. It’s something I was so excited about and waited so long to get it. But before getting back to the house we had to stop by her friend’s house and I was livid! I was anxious to get home to finally play the game I got pissed and said; “Fine! I’ll just stay in the car.” Which doesn’t sound too bad until I tell you it was close to 100 degrees in the car and I felt like I was going to die! I had an entire moment and succumbed to my environment. When all I had to do was go inside the house and use the game console my sister’s friend owned. I was so caught up in the environment that I didn’t even think to simply uproot and move to one that helped my goal.
I’m so glad this occurred before I hit puberty so my immaturity can be somewhat justified. But the crazy thing is adults are doing the same exact thing in their lives every single day. People are complaining about the city they were born or live in, student’ss are complaining about their school, people are complaining about the relationship they are in. There is so much complaining and blaming going on that people are relinquishing all the control they have instead of doing something about it. There are only two ways to invest your energy. You can invest it in changing a situation or invest it into justifying and rationalizing the situation. You can invest your energy into positivity and or negativity. The circumstance is black and white; completely binary!
Now I know what you’re thinking; “Ok that sounds all fine and dandy and great motivational speech coach. But in the real world, you can’t just up and leave things. I got bills to pay, there are kids involved, I have so much in time invested.” Which leads me to another way to way to invest your energy. You can either use it to find a way or use it to find an excuse. Point…blank…simple. It’s not the politically correct thing to say I’m aware of that. But I’m the road person to come to if you’re looking for a yes man or someone to tell you what they think you want to here. We all live on planet Earth so we all have shit to deal with. Nobody is excluded from adversity or hardships! As a matter of fact, the people you see that are thriving and successful dealt with adversity also and had to make tough decisions as well. They just chose to use their energy to get ahead and closer to their dreams while others make excuses to stay where you are. It’s really that simple. Plus how can someone blame his or her shortcomings on a city, or kids, or bills? Last time I checked we all have bills and taxes. I’m sure I can find several people in a city that have had success in any field or industry. And really? We blaming our failures on kids now? Sooo everyone in the history of civilization that has kids couldn’t reach their dreams? I thought so…
When I say you’re going to die in the title of this article I don’t mean literally: as the fish would if he stayed in the polluted water. But I mean spiritual death. It’s spiritual suicide to starve yourself from pursuing your destiny. You’re not doing anyone any favors staying small, playing it safe, and staying where you are. Too many times we compare where we are now to where could be if we did take a chance or leap of faith and change our environment. And we too often automatically assume that if playing it safe is hard well it’s going to be ten times harder if we move outside of our comfort zone. But the difference is playing it safely keeps things hard in life. But when you take a chance, follow your passions, and change your environment; it’s hard initially but then something magical happens. Once in your environment, that’s congruent to your potential; you don’t even realize difficult moments anymore. You’re so on purpose with your life that now difficult moments are just challenges you have to get through en route to the best version of your life.
I can say all of this because I’ve been there. I made excuses to stay where I was and I made the tough decisions to change my environment. Trust me the pain you’ll experience making that change and taking that jump has nothing on the pain you’ll feel when you’re in the last stages of your life and all you feel is regret. As Bill Gates is quoted as saying; “If you are born poor it’s not your fault but if you die poor it’s your fault.” Well, you being born in a unconducive environment isn’t your fault. But if you settle, and make excuses, and justifications; then you have nobody to blame but yourself.
#BeBrilliant
