Don’t allow the big folks who sit on high pedestals to weigh your mettle. Rebel, show up, and be blind to authority.
One thing I firmly believe in is that we’re all bad at assessing others’ abilities.
You can never know how much magic the other person holds. And thinking that you can measure their capability is nothing more than some refined form of ignorance.
I naturally despise it when I see some ‘big folks’ assess others’ potential – because they’re mostly curbing hopes and remarking upon something they don’t fully understand.
When we give others the permission
We grow up with a lot of self-doubt and insecurities. Even at workplaces or new fields, we begin like kids – at square one.
“Am I doing fine?”
“Do I sing well enough?”
“Can I be a writer?”
You don’t know what’s wrong or right with you, but you remain honest with your work. Although you’ve just begun, you’re curious about the outcome.
You wonder about one thing often – can I make it?
That’s when the gatekeepers step in
Their pockets are full of opinions – because they’re the know-alls. They claim to know the rules. Their ears are deaf to others’ perspectives.
They’ll judge you.
You’ll be told your worth.
That’s when you’ll need to make a decision – to believe in hopeless authority, or free yourself from that circus of seeking validation.
Know what? Screw the authority
It’s all an illusion.
Authority is made up and superficial.
It consists of nothing more than people who feel important about themselves and others who make them feel important. A bubble of its own kind.
Critics and opinion-makers will always exist. Naysayers won’t disappear. So do what you wish to do anyway.
Maybe you’ll realize that you weren’t right.
Or perhaps, you’ll thrive.
Either way, you’ll step out and show up instead of letting some strangers strangle your wishes. It’s the courage that counts, not the outcome.
Picture this
Shakira’s music teacher banned her from the school choir. Elvis was fired right after his first song. Thomas Edison’s teacher called him addled.
Walt Disney was told that he wasn’t imaginative enough.
I don’t intend to share some romanticized list of underdog stories. Instead, my point is clear – don’t let others decide what you can do or who you can become.
Simple?
I remember reading a Forbes article about 3-4 years ago mentioning how most people can never become writers. Then, I was a complete novice. It disheartened me and grated on my nerves.
A couple of months later I earned my first few dollars, writing. I kissed my laptop that day. It felt like breaking some prophecy to pieces.
That mattered to me.
Most good stuff happens that way.
Here’s a tip
Don’t let them tell what your poems should look like or how your songs must sound. There’s no way for art, for life, or for anything for that matter.
You own everything you do. You work for it. And there’s nobody superior enough to instruct you.
I’m not trying to be an ignorant jerk – but it’s always worth it to be yourself. Go on when then the world doesn’t care. It makes you powerful.
Ditch the instruction manuals handed over to by people who think they’re smarter than you. Who are they to rob you of your expression?
Be blind to authority.
Leap beyond horizons.