In this graduation season, I would like to join the bandwagon by sharing my 22.75 year's worth of wisdom and some thoughts of other wiser people. So what exactly are the things you need for your journey to realizing your dreams? Here is my list.
WILLPOWER."If your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it." This quote by the famous civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, is one that is closest to my heart as this reminds me that ANYTHING is possible as long as you put your heart and soul to it. I have always been the self-driven, go-getter type of person and although I have yet to realize many of the things in my bucket list, I know that by taking to heart the advices great and wise people give as a cliche would get me somewhere.
GUTS! As they say, "no guts, no glory." This is definitely a no-brainer. You would never gain anything unless you risk something. Kinda scary - yes - but the results could be worth all that.
A PLAN - and many other alternative plans. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Nothing can be worse than not knowing what to do next. Making plans gives your life a sense of direction, and allows you to be proactive as it lets you see the possible problems you may encounter along the way and the varied means on how you can deal with these. Remember, it is less stressful to anticipate and prepare for problems rather than to react to them there and then when it catches you off guard.
SOCIAL SUPPORT. "Friends will carry you where money won't go." Marget Walker reminds us of the value of people in our lives. Yes, friends, family, and an intimate, genuine social circle should be your pot of gold. Many may share your glory with you, but only people who genuinely care about you will be there when you are at your worst. Once you've found them, take care of them as you would a treasure.
PRAYER. "Prayer does not change God, it changes him who prays," according to philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Most of us have this very distorted perception of prayer as a pill or as a genie in a bottle, where we only pray if we are hurt or if we really want something. This should not only be made or given when you are at your worst and need someone or something to pull you out of your pit. This should be done regularly as part of a healthy and sincere practice - and never as a last resort when all else have failed.
HUMILITY. "To be truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them." The French socio-political thinker, Charles Montesquieu, says it all. Confidence usually stems from one achievement to the next, but we should always remind ourselves to keep our feet flat on the ground. After all, we were not born knowing what we know now - we all started off somewhere. And in spite of everything that we've achieved, we must never forget where we came from and that there is still so much more that we don't know. Let us not wait for those painful and sometimes embarrassing "humbling experiences" that snap us back to reality - that no matter how great we've already become, we are, and can never be, perfect.
GRATITUDE. "Praise the bridge that carried you over." George Colman, through this quote, tells us to give credit to everyone who have helped you become who you are and be where you are. After all, no person is an island and no matter how much we think we achieved everything by ourselves, there is an inner strength within us which made us stand strong - and this strength comes from somewhere. So whoever your source of strength is - your bitter past, the bullies from your acne-infested high school life, your hopes for your family's future, your dog - make sure you thank them. There is no such thing as silent gratitude as it is still ingratitude.
HAPPY THOUGHTS. "If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." Peace advocate Mildred Ryder tells us to keep happy thoughts within reach. Remember, the law of attraction posits that you attract what you think - so think positive!:)
HEALTHY COMPETITION - not against others but against yourself. "It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before." San Francisco 49ers' Steve Young tells us to constantly challenge ourselves to be better than we already are. If we compare ourselves to other people, we will only be frustrated and jealous because there will really be people above us and below us so better compare yourself to your old self - and one day, you'll just be amazed at how much you've improved.
BALANCE. "While all aspects of our life are important, without balance, you become addicted and like all addictions, you lose," Catherine Pulsifer shares. We should have a healthy mix of work and play if we want to be truly happy and satisfied with life. Too much work makes us detached from everything else, get easily disappointed, bitter, lonely and burned-out. It is vital to strike a balance. It also does not hurt to nurture and enhance many other areas in your life where you can compensate should you fail in one area.
FAITH. Have faith, not just in yourself but more importantly, in a Higher Being. It can be God, Allah, Ganesh, Buddha, Jehovah... What matters is there is Someone out there who can be your invisible hand. While it is true that having faith in yourself makes you do things, having faith in Him or Her, makes you do even greater things you never thought you could.
COURAGE to face disappointment and failure. "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated," poet Maya Angelou says. Courage allows us to fail and learn important lessons, and in that sense, we have not failed. Later in life, we are likely to regret more the things we did not do for fear of failure and rejection, than the things we did but failed. There is no greater agony than spending the rest of your life wondering "what if."
To the graduates of 2011, KUDOS for commencing another chapter of your life! Have fun and have faith in filling the fresh pages of a new chapter that is about to enfold!:)
