When I graduated from high school, my parents threw me a big graduation party and invited lots of friends and relatives. It was a wonderful celebration, a time to look forward to a bright and happy future. I had received a scholarship to a nearby college and was very excited about the next step on my journey in life.
But not everyone was so excited about my prospects. One of my relatives from out of town asked me what I was planning to do. When I replied that I was going to college to be a nurse, he paused for a second, looked me right in the eyes, and said: “You’ll never make it!”
I was shocked. His words kept reverberating in my head: “You’ll never make it!” I couldn’t believe that someone who should have been encouraging my success and well-being was now betting against me.
Finally I regained my composure and told him he was wrong. “Yes, I will make it,” I told him firmly. And at that moment I decided that no matter what challenges I faced in nursing school, I was going to prove my naysaying relative wrong!
I’ll admit, even though I determined to succeed in nursing school and prove my naysaying relative wrong, it wasn’t easy. Good grades didn’t come easy for me, and halfway through my first semester I got mononucleosis and had to be sent home to rest and recover. Was I tempted to quit? Absolutely. Yet instead I persevered, and the words of my pessimistic relative actually fueled my determination.
Before long I was graduating from nursing school and starting my job at a prestigious hospital. Nursing has been a wonderful career, allowing me to reinvent myself from pediatric nurse to fitness nurse to cardiac nurse. I am so glad I didn’t allow a naysayer rob me of my goals and dreams.
What about you
Are you letting naysayers keep you from your goals and dreams? If so, how can that be turned into fuel to motivate you on your journey?
Not sure why some people feel compelled to squelch the dreams of others. I am glad to see that you persevered. I appreciate your words of encouragement and challenge.
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