Listening to Your Inner Voice
15Nov.2017
There will always be people that, for whatever reason, will stand in your way, will try to stop you, will doubt your ability, or will subconsciously want you to fail. Don’t let them. There will be people who will give you reasons why you can’t do something. Do it anyway. When someone tells you something that is unsupportive, hurtful, or undermines your self-confidence, do not heed them. You must listen to your inner voice, for it alone knows what your heart desires, and what you are capable of doing. As Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
If you are to succeed in realizing your dreams, you must listen to your inner voice, and to those who support, enable, and empower your success. For this reason, it is important to surround yourself with the right people. And, by that I mean, people who add to your life, not detract from it. People who contribute something positive, not negative. If you have people in your life who are energy vampires, who consistently take more than they give, or who give you more negativity than positivity, perhaps it is time to consider that these are not people you want on your team. The people you want beside you are the ones who support you, cheer for you, and push you in the right direction. Not those who hold you back, push you in the wrong direction, or encourage you to do things you do not want to do.
Life is so much easier and more enjoyable if you surround yourself with those who empower your success, rather than those who sabotage it. This is why you should surround yourself with friends who lift you up, not put you down; who give you support and make you feel good about yourself, not make you feel bad; and who help you to be a better person, not help you to self-destruct. When it comes to friends, I learned that quality is always better than quantity, and having friends who love you, support you, want the best for you, and encourage you to follow your dreams is something that can make a huge difference in the quality of your life. The important thing to remember is that when it comes to friends, you do have a choice!
If you have good people in your life, you should do everything you can to keep them, but if you have the wrong people in your life, perhaps it is time to release them and move on. This is important because, if you never let go of the wrong people, chances are you will never meet the right people.
Joel Osteen, who in my opinion, is one of the wisest, most inspirational pastors living today, put it this way, “You need to associate with people that inspire you, people that challenge you to rise higher, people that make you better. Don’t waste your valuable time with people that are not adding to your growth. Your destiny is too important.”
In life, you will always face situations of uncertainty, when you are not sure of what to do, or in which direction you should head. During these times, you must trust your instincts, for they are almost always right. This means that if something does not feel right, then you probably should not do it.
There will be people who will try to talk you into doing something different, or will give you advice on what you should or should not do, or how you should do it. What they are really saying is, if you want to succeed, you should be more like them. But, you are not them, and the advice they give you applies to their life, not necessarily to yours. And, whether it is your family, friends, or people you look up to, they will always have an opinion. It does not mean that it is what you should do, or is the right course of action for you. The truth is, you are the only one who knows what is best for you. Your inner voice is rarely wrong, and if it is telling you to go down a different path, you should listen.