"IGNORE Those Who Discourage You!"

"IGNORE Those Who Discourage You!"

Understanding how valuable our dreams and goals are will help us in the process of PROTECTING and GUARDING them!

If we do not realize the VALUE and/or WORTH of our dreams - then we will do little to protect them.

Our dreams and our goals are like a precious plant that we have planted that needs lots of tender love and care. We must not only nourish the plant but we must also protect the plant.

LET'S NOT MISS THIS POINT!

Some seem to think that all we have to do is NOURISH our dreams and goals. As long as we continue to listen to positive podcasts, mp3's, CD's, etc. and/or read positive books and articles then we are guaranteed success in keeping our positive outlook.

THIS IS FALSE!

Remember, not only must we NOURISH but we must also PROTECT!

Go back to the plant example. What does one have to do to protect their plant?

First of all, we must identify the "enemies" of your plant! Perhaps we must protect the plant from animals such as rabbit or deer that would come along and eat the plant as it begins to grow! This may require us putting up a fence or some sort of barrier to protect this plant! This may also be true if you have a dog that would just like to lay in the moist dirt that surrounds your plant. The dog may not intentionally eat or destroy your plant, but the dog's "selfish nature" takes over and it wants to be cooled by the moist ground. Result? Your plant is still destroyed in the process.

Protecting your plant is a continuous process as you work to keep the weeds away from your plant! This is not a one time effort but one that takes place CONTINUOUSLY! Sure, there may be sprays that you can use, but you also have to be careful that you don't kill your plant in the process. The best way is to simply do it manually - by hoe or by hand - and do it often.

Secondly, once the enemy is identified, a course of action must be planned! This has already been discussed in the above paragraphs when I talked about a fence and weeding. You see, KNOWING the enemy is not enough. Again, nourishment is not enough - we must also PROTECT!

Now, apply this to your dreams and goals.

There are those (like the rabbit and the deer) that will actively try to destroy your dream. Oh, they may be "cute" (even disguised as "friends") but they are very destructive! Then there are those that are like the dog I described. They may not "intentionally" set out to destroy your dreams but their "selfish" nature takes over. They don't want you to change. They don't want you to invest your time somewhere else besides with them. They want you to stay where you are and as you are. Regardless, this process will also destroy your dreams.

Then, there are the "weeds". They are fighting you every single day with negative words and thoughts. It is a constant battle. Left alone, they will simply choke your dreams out and drain the life right out of you. Again, some weeds are very pretty - but don't be fooled!

ACTION! Do you now see how important it is for each of us to take ACTION on protecting our dreams and goals? We cannot simply coast along hoping things will turn out. If our dreams and goals are VALUABLE to us, we can not simply NOURISH but we must also PROTECT!

And, one of the ways that we PROTECT our dreams is to "ignore those who discourage you". Some may think this sounds harsh - but, again, how important/valuable are your dreams?

Only YOU can decide! Only YOU can do the "work". And yes, it IS work!

It would be wonderful if we could just "wish it away" or make an attempt at this once and it be done. It just doesn't work that way.

DAILY. CONTINUOUS. NECESSARY.

Easier said than done? Yes! Anything worth doing always IS easier said than done!

If it were so easy, we'd have far fewer negative people in the world, wouldn't we?

By the way, be sure to listen to the podcast on this - I took the idea in a whole different direction in this blog than I did on the podcast! But these were the thoughts that came to my mind as I sat down to type this today.

SO IT'S A BONUS!

Take charge of your life and your dreams. Ignore those who discourage you!

And, along the way, you will find it easier to do as I encourage you to do each day....

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike