We all have experienced this. People or, in a worse case, a member of the family discouraging our life goal/dream in various ways possible until we start to question it as well.
Why would you fiddle with the already fragile line separating the strong self-confidence from daunting self-doubt?
It is no surprise that it usually takes a little effort to throw you down into a pool of anxiety. However, there is a way of standing against this misery.
Supposedly, you have already come to terms with the difficulty of life. In case you haven't, I'm afraid you have an inevitable life lesson striding slowly yet steadily towards you.
Life is a very complex term, to begin with. There is no book that would provide you with a further knowledge of how to perceive your surrounding nor a google page that would describe the purpose of life. The living is simply an elaborated thing to deal with.
Against the tiny group of supporters stands a much greater group of people that resemble nightmares more than the human kind. To put it another way, food can feed you as well as poison you. Equally, words spoken aloud might hurt like the sharpest rose thorn.
Being a person who faced this pitiful life lesson, I decided to tell you how I personally handled a hard time in hope that it helps some of you in order to maintain your pace at dream chasing mission.
Passion
Ever since I was a child, I have been more than keen on art.
Seeing coloured splotches all over my hands together with the raggedy t-shirt was hardly a surprising sight. I was after all an artist who worried more about water drops on just finished drawing than about the contemporary fashion trends.
The second major influence that shaped my personality has to be nature. Wandering around our little cottage in the countryside with big curious eyes, I could never have imagined such things as a failure not to mention the lack of emotional/financial support.
As I grew up the world around me suddenly darkened changing my once formed perspective dramatically.
As a result, I stopped to be overjoyed nothing seemed to be as easy as it once used to be. Loosing my always merry side was just the beginning. All of a sudden I turned 18 and the life was never the same.
I realised that things which had been clear before were now rather different from what I was used to.
As soon as I caught my breath I realised I am once again in a world full of strangers. In short, I was embraced by the strong feeling of insecurity. Above all the confusion there still was a hope in bright days.
The hope was, in fact, a great part of one thing I could rely on - the ever-present passion for art that was still holding me up as a crutch.
A pure excitement for things I was regularly doing. Namely, the irreplaceable love for activities such as reading, writing not to forget photography.
I have the ultimate faith in myself when I do something that makes my soul smile. To clarify, it is a feeling that nobody can take from me. The only way to shake this feeling might be seeing other person excelling in something you do as well using minimal effort in contrast to your vigorous attempts. Either way, this could simply be bitter jealousy.
Hope
In other words, a personality trait I was born with.
Having hope that never fades has helped me to withstand a handful of critical moments in my life.
There were, however, days that challenged me to stick to it even more. The additional emotional support provided by my close friends was indeed appreciated as well. I would personally recommend you to find a similar spark and then looking after it as much as you would care for a baby. By keeping this tiny fire, even in times when everything seems to have shattered down to pieces, you will surely see things in other light.
Believe, have the faith, fight!
With this in mind, you can certainly achieve more. All it takes is having the hope in good tomorrows where nothing is quite impossible!
Being stubborn
Although this may sound a bit strange to you, being headstrong is beneficial.
Now, please forget about the overall negative sound of this adjective. By allowing you to do so, you will be able to keep the pace with me.
There are moments when being stubborn helps you achieve a goal. Let me explain how.
Is it hard to make you budge? In that case, you are considered to be stubborn. bad thing?
Nevertheless, imagine that someone is trying to convince you that you dream is, in fact, nonsense.
In this very situation, you naturally raise your stakes. NO. It is what you desire to do no matter the consequences. Nobody will convince you to do otherwise.
As controversial as this thought is I can ensure you that if you won't have sharp elbows in this world you will hardly get anywhere. That is the merciless truth.
Equally important is to NOT be dependant on the opinions of others regardless of the situation.
All of your efforts towards your dream path can be demolished by as little as one talk with someone you care about. Save yourself from saying " If I only could have done that.". Simply DO IT. Listen to your intuition. You want this because you CAN do it and nothing will make you pull out a white crumpled " I give up" flag.
THE PROBLEMATIC OF SUPPORT
Firstly, there are various types of support that may differ in some crucial details.
Nonetheless, I will cover just two major types to emphasise my message to you.
That being emotional support and financial support.
Let me start with the emotional support. From the beginning of our life we are surrounded by people who love us, take care of our well-being and who try to support us on the daily basis through encouraging words or gestures. The source of positive vibes can be anyone from your grandparents to your classmates who tell you how amazing you are moreover how big the potential they see in you.
Careful though, people, as I said before, can wear attires and hide their malevolent plans over-floating with jealousy. Be sure to learn how to distinguish honesty from falsehood.
Since these things can be easily replaced.
In general, we can make a very simple division. As I advised before, we will be looking at the influence that has finances and emotions have on you.
1) Financial Support
This category is how the title establishes, regarding money moreover it impacts.
You can be gifted with enormous talent but if you lack the chance to buy yourself products/equipment to satisfy your needs you won't get as many likes as a person who creates average things with professional gear. Although, you have one advantage that they will never have- your effort to improve. To paraphrase one friend of mine " You can learn using old equipment or low-quality products. One day you will master them. Then, you will seek new gear and since you have been trying to create equal content with your standard gear before, now the door of possibilities will get even wider. Not only you will know how to use its full potential but also you will again try to create something better. I have no doubt, it will look incredible since you have challenged yourself not to mention your talent." This is the advice I will never forget.
Don't lose all the hope because you have less money than others. This is not something that should stop you.
Never compare your achievements with someone who is more wealthy than you by all means.
Try to avoid jealousy as one of the most common feelings that arise when we compare finances.
To be fair, It is no mean feat to forget about the thing around which the world revolves nowadays. Yet it is worth a try.
If this is too hard for you to ´deal with, remember that one day you can support your hobby/ passion by yourself. It will take some time but the more you will value the final outcome.
2) Emotional Support
This kind of support is somewhat different from the previous one. Not less important Emotional support resonates around people and their behaviour furthermore the relationship they have with you.
As I stated above, one word can hurt like a car crash or even more. That's why this support is so crucial for you. It shapes your personality having an ultimate power over your self-confidence.
On the contrary, a nice compliment can help you cross the wildest river.
In my case, I experienced a lack of emotional support from the side of my father. He never said anything nice in particular when I showed him my art or photography no matter how hard and desperately called for any kind of encouragement. After some time I realised that things will not get any better and decided to stand up for myself.
Still, this "parental failure" is encrypted in my head and will not disappear any time soon.
That is why I am less confident about things I do than I should be. Hence a proof that there don't have to be words to let you sink into the depths of insecurity.
For this reason, find yourself something or someone who will be your either silent* or "loud" supporter. It can also be an activity such as listening to music or gardening. Living beings are, however, the best providers of kindness. Have a friend or two or hundred it doesn't matter really what matters is their willingness to care about you and your passion.
*The mysterious silent supporter can be a singer or an actor that you admire
To summarise all of the thoughts that I shared here with you, let me just say a few sentences.
Be proud of yourself. Not on special occasions but every day. You have achieved incredible things ( even a self-made lunch is a victory) so far! Remember you have nice days to look forward to. Beware of what if scenarios! They do no good!
Stay persistent in pursuing your dream despite the rainy days that may strike you. Never give up!
Think of it likewise - You are your own hero who will one day shine as bright as a burning sun. Stay who you are and fight!