Skeptics can be found on every street corner. They’ll knock you down when you’re up, tell you what a loser you are at your child’s funeral — they’ll tell you flying’s impossible even though we’ve been doing it since 1903.
Some skeptics indeed have the best of intentions. Like your parents telling you that it’s not a good idea to try jumping off the roof of your house with nothing more than a garbage bag for a parachute — that’s the sound kind of skepticism.
However, as we branch into adulthood and attempt to make our own unique mark on the world, most of this “noise” becomes less of a deterrent to danger and heartbreak, as it is in our youth, and instead becomes the biggest roadblock to achieving our goals.
And even the most hard-nosed among us needs a little help getting past it now and again.
5. Embrace Solitude
“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.” ― Aldous Huxley
Not forever, mind you. Just learn to make the most of whatever fleeting moments you might get. Spending time around others can definitely help expand your creativity. But so can spending an hour or two to yourself now and again — every day, if possible.
4. Internalize Your Goals Until They Gain Steam
“Research proves if you share your goals, your brain gets tricked and thinks it’s already accomplished. So you lose all your momentum to accomplish it!” — Derek Sivers
This advice is just as much about staying on track as it is about keeping the skeptics from poisoning your soul. Though many a success story has resulted from bringing one’s goals to the forefront of society and socializing their ambitions, research does show that the mere act of sharing your hopes and dreams does have a negative effect on your motivation moving forward. Keep it to yourself until you’ve at least hit a milestone or two.
3. Reject the Desire to Justify Your Ambitions to Skeptics
“Tune out the naysayers, tune into your own courage, and take a bold step toward the passion-filled life you really want.” — Oprah Winfrey
Many have an inherent need to justify themselves ad nausea. This incessant little need is not only one that’s rarely effective at quelling skeptics. It also robs you of motivation, a little at a time, until you yourself have no idea why you’re doing whatever the heck you’re doing anymore. Focus instead on how to move forward from where you are currently. Ignore the naysayers and they’ll eventually shut up and move onto an easier target!
2. Write Yourself a Letter
“Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.” — Albert Einstein
Pretty simple really. How many of you would write down all the things you know you might forget when it comes time to leave the house to go shopping? Or use an app of some sort to set yourself a reminder of something important that needs your attention tout de suite? Yet when it comes to goals, hopes, dreams, desires, etc., we leave those things to chance. When it comes to dealing with skeptics, it’s important to know who you are and where you’re going, to help drown out the noise made by those who seek to push their narrow minded opinions on us.
1. Find New People to Surround Yourself With
“To find peace and happiness, you need to be willing to lose your connection with the people, places and things that create all the unpleasant noise in your life.” — Unknown
and…
“Change your mind and it will change your life. If nothing around you changes, changes the things that are around you.” – Tyrese Gibson
Realize that even those closest to you may have to go. If the skeptics are your family, take into account that if they’re not helping you, they’re hurting you. It’s not your fault, it’s theirs. Sometimes, as John Paul Dejoria says “It’s time to walk down a different street.” If nothing else, at least create some distance between you and the negative influences in your life. Find people who help you cultivate desire and who make you feel happy. There’s only so many other options and when all else fails, get the losers out of your life!
Main Image Credit: saragoldsmith/Flickr
