Wherever the crowd goes, run in the other direction… They are always wrong.
-Anonymous.
What does it take to live a meaningful life? Is it motivation? Is it hard work? or is it a combination of both? While these and a few others are key components when building a life with purpose. In my journey, I’ve comprehended that no trait is useful if we first don’t come to terms with being misunderstood. You can be the most disciplined person in the globe, but if people’s opinions weigh more than your own. Eventually, you will stop the fight to become the best version of yourself.
When I work out, I love to listen to Kobe Bryant’s interviews. This dude was CRAZY! But this same craziness it’s what took him to become the legend he became. Kobe would train about 4 times a day; he was also the first in the gym and the last to leave. If Kobe knew he was about to face a good player who happened to be from a different country, he would learn some words in their language just so he could get in their mind. Like these, Kobe did many things that seemed “too much”, “obsessive”, or even “ridiculous”, to other people… but Kobe didn’t care! Kobe understood that to create a life that had meaning in his eyes, he would have to be okay with being uncomprehended. What does that life look like to you? What kind of life is one that IN YOUR EYES SEEMS MEANINGFUL? Figure that out, and then make daily decisions that will take you where you desire. See, the problem with us is that we have the answer to the question above, but we fail to pay the price to get there. It is not that we are not capable, is that we believe others more than we believe ourselves. I still remember the look from a couple of friends when I told them that I wanted to write a book, they thought I had lost my mind! Had I listened to them, you wouldn’t be reading this blog post today. I also remember the words from my relatives when I expressed that I wanted to play basketball in the States… All they did was laugh. Had I listened to them, I wouldn’t be about to finish my second year at a College in Texas. Today, people think I am a little bit too much because I wake up at 4:30 a.m. I stay at home on a Friday night reading a book and I have the crazy idea to inspire my generation to live a meaningful life. I can promise you that if I listen to them, I will miss the opportunity to see what God has in store. Now, I am not here to tell you that it is easy for me to just ignore the world and listen to my heart. I struggle every day! My friends have opinions, my parents have opinions, my church has opinions, my relatives have opinions, and the list goes on and on. But something that has helped me, is to remind myself every day that God didn’t make me a copy. He didn’t run out of ideas when he was making me, nor was he following a recipe to make the same human he had made before me. He took his time and knitted together every aspect of myself according to his will, so I could be a unique expression of his creativity –read Psalm 139-. Therefore, if I am a unique work of art, why would I kill my singularity just because other people can’t see theirs? NO! I choose to discover the things God has for me… and the only way is by staying true to who he created me to be. My friend, people will always talk… we don’t know how to shout our mouths! So, I want to invite you to make the decision to be okay with being misunderstood. Stop trying to get people to see your vision, they will never see it because they weren’t given your lens. Be okay with people laughing at you, talking about you, and pointing at you… I can promise you that they will be the same people who will ask you: how did you do it. I’ve come to a point where I am happily misunderstood, in fact, I want to be misunderstood! When no one is questioning my decisions or looking at me as if I’m crazy after I tell them something I want to do, it lets me know that I am starting to look like the crowd. Therefore, I must run in the opposite direction! it is by looking like the crowd that I miss the opportunity to be the best version of myself… and that is, to be fully myself.
I am honored to have the opportunity to share some of my thoughts with every person who reads my blog posts! Remember, you are not a mistake! You are valuable and were created with a purpose. You don’t have to wander through life by yourself! There is a man who has been changing my life little by little… his name is Jesus! And trust me, I used to think he was a religion, I believed he was nothing more than maybe some songs or a Sunday morning sermon. HE IS NOT! And you need to prove it yourself… he can change your life friend. Please! Don’t let a religion, a person, a preacher, or a situation steal from you the most important relationship you could ever have!
Remember, I believe in you, God believes in you… now the time has come for you to start believing in yourself.