You CAN Get There But It Might Not Be Easy
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Sep 23, 2013
About 5 years ago my friend Kelvin Ringold wrote a post titled You CAN Get There From Here. It's a motivational post that was prompted by a trip he took out of town and, while using his GPS, received a message saying "you can't get there from here."
 Hartwig HKD via Compfight |
I thought about that again this week as I was reading a story about other GPS' in general where, it seems, that's a common message that lots of people get. I have to admit that I've never thought much about it because I've never gotten the message. What usually happens to me is the GPS gets me somewhere close to the address I'm looking for and what I'm looking for isn't there; why don't these things ever tell you that things aren't there any longer?
Truth be told, there's a lot of great motivational messages that one can glean from something like this, but some messages of warning as well. Many of us decide to take chances or do things that someone doesn't like, and we hear negatives about it. You tell someone "I'm going to work for myself" and you'll get something like "You'll never make it like that; why take the risk?" Maybe you've finally gotten up the courage to talk to that specific someone you've wanted to meet for a long time, only to hear your friend say "Are you nuts? They're out of your league."
For most of us this isn't something that happens daily, but it happens enough such that many people don't want to take any chances in their lives, or people won't go and enjoy something they like because someone will castigate them for it.
For instance, I'm someone who likes to talk about foods I like on Facebook. There's always someone who hates it and say I'm not taking care of myself. I could feel cowed and never talk about it anymore, or I could yield to their "expertise" and start eating things they like.
But you know what; I'm me, and I'm eating whatever I want to eat, within reason. I've found, since I've been out of town, that my body vehemently hates some of the new foods I've tried that tasted pretty good, and had to stop eating them. I figure my body and my taste buds have served me well for more than 50 years, and if I listen more to them that to others I'll live a happier life, and sometimes it's even a healthy life.
Here's the thing to know overall. Yes, you can get there if you want to, if you're willing to do what it takes to get there within reason. Just this week Oprah Winfrey owned up to having a nervous breakdown earlier in the year while trying to make her new channel a success. In that instance it wasn't that the world needed more Oprah, or that she had to be more visible and everywhere at once. It's that she needed to think smarter, work more on strategy and staying healthy and trusting instincts more than killing herself to be better; after all, she's Oprah! 🙂
No one becomes a success because it's easy; it's always hard in some form or another, even if it comes quickly. Don't give up on something too soon, while recognizing that you might have to retool or start over at some point if you truly want something. But you can get there; just ask Kelvin. 😉
Sometimes you have to ask what you don’t want, to know what you do want.
That’s true Steve. However, often people aren’t sure how to ask that question so that it’ll help.
Thanks for the mention Mr. Mitchell! Truthfully I’m a bit stunned to realize that post was 5 years ago. Wow! Yes, and I think that message is as applicable — maybe more so — today as it was 5 years ago. Lots more people with even more fear and skepticism, and their warnings are likely true and accurate — for them 🙂 You’re right; the road to our success is rarely a straight line. Lately I’m reminded of the folks who run triathlons. Our journey is likely to be a little running, a little biking and maybe some swimming until we get to where we need to be. So we just have to make sure we’re up to it 🙂 Thanks again for the mention and have another awesome day!
Thanks for stopping by Mr. Ringold. It can be hard to hold onto a positive mindset when things get hard and we get tired and feel beaten down, but so many have succeeded that we have to look at it and say it’s possible.
Strangely enough, Mr. Mitchell, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt beaten down. I’ve felt challenged, temporarily outsmarted or outwitted perhaps, and occasionally taunted. But I’m fortunate to maintain a “Okay; what’s plan B… C… D” mindset rather than beaten down. Of course, that *could* be delirium setting in. It’s all a game and if I decide to play, I expect to win… eventually 🙂 I tend to be suspicious of quick victories, because sometimes rapid success can be our worst enemy, because it may trick us into thinking we know what we’re doing 🙂 LOL. Hang in there; if ever you need an attitude boost… you know where to find me 😉 Enjoy!