Stretching
I read recently a book that stuck out of me. The book was for John C. Maxwell entitled Be All You Can Be. This book is a major resource for building a good personality. It guides us to probe into our internal world and investigate about how we can face the challenge to stretch our potential and finally establish a successful life that is full of happiness, planning and experience. In fact, it is an orientation for self -determination as an attempt to strengthen our potential to lead our own life. Stretching is defined as a kind of self-motivation. It is a step further to be there first and always able to take what life throws at you. It is a courageous feeling that nothing is impossible as long as we have determination
Throughout my reading I came across some inspirational ideas that I want to share with you here:
There are uncountable obstacles in the individual life that stand between him and his future. Shyness, fear, discouragement, laziness and hopefulness are a direct cause for our failure. In a large part of our community some individuals hold an inner negative assessment about themselves and as a result of that they develop a sort of weak easily swayed personality, personality that is afraid of future and unable to productively engage in the society. And this is what the book is talking about.
People who are not stretching prefer to stay in more secure position. They don’t like to risk. Although they are naturally born stretching, they find latter that this attitude exposes them to danger. As a result they give up; they don’t want to confront with life outcomings. In this case, they match stretching with hardship, something that stops them from continuing to stretch.
For those who keep stretching, are in a position that makes them vulnerable to people comments because they are facing the challenge. Unfortunately, road to success is full of critics. People take it to criticize others and lower from the importance of what they themselves failed in or not ready to do
Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, was attacked continually for his creative, inventive work in the medical field. He found that there are three kinds of criticism. The first one is when people tell you that you are wrong. After they have seen you doing well in your life, they say that what you are doing is not really that important. Finally, after they see that it is important, they will say that they are convicted that you can do some good things. The best thing to do to face people critics is the fruit of your labor.
You should never quit that habit of stretching in order to stay in a defensive situation. What you are doing is the right thing and continue to do it even though they are cutting you off. People who know the value of success will appreciate it those who don’t appreciate it will lower from your effort anyway.
Luck of understanding can be another factor of limiting from our potential. Maxwell precisely elaborates in this point by saying,
We are also vulnerable to misunderstanding. Often people whose own motives are wrong will feel threatened by us if we are stretching to be our best. They react by questioning the validity of our motives, accusing us of doing our best for some impure purpose.
For Maxwell, much of the blame is to us.
Not only are we vulnerable to the reactions of others, but we can be vulnerable to ourselves. We are often harder on ourselves, than other people are. If we have no goals, we won’t recognize failure, but if we’re stretching for success, we will fail from time to time. We need to learn how to deal with that. Don’t ever let failure become final. be aware that discouragement is failure’s partner. The best way to pull yourself out of discouragement is to surround yourself by people who are encouragers. Get a friend who really understands the value of affirmation, who really believes in you. Do you know the best way to get encouragers around you? Become an encourager yourself.
In these paragraphs, we have discussed criticism, failure, misunderstanding and discouragement. Never allow one of these things prevent you from achieving your goals and objectives. In order to succeed in that mission, you need first to ask yourself for a moment where are you vulnerable?
For Maxwell there are some reasons why people stop stretching. The first reason is that they put themselves around people who are bored and boring. His advice for us is to stay around those who are actively alive if we want to be productive in the society and realize our dreams. This is because we will get the needed inspiration and know what is better for us by learning from good examples.
Secondly, work duties become easy job to do as we reputedly do the same thing for a long time. This necessitates on us to look always for new goals, new dimensions and new strategies so life will be renewing itself before our eyes and finally we become compassionate about our daily life
In your stretching periods you will probably have more problems than at any other time, and those will be the great times of your life.
Good luck
Moustapha