Think of your life like a book you are writing. Each morning you wake up, and everyday you live, you add pages to the book. The words you speak, the actions you take, the direction you go, are all part of the chapters of the book. But as you write, people will observe you, they will criticise you, they will also have opinions about you, they may also cheer you up, and at some points, they may tell you how crazy you sound, and all that. These people are your audience. You have to constantly remind yourself that you are the one that holds the pen to write the story of your life, not the audience.
Image from Pexels
A lot of people have derailed in life, not because they did not have a plan of what to do, nor is it because they are not making attempts, but simply because they started listening to every opinion. You have to understand that everyone is entitled to create their own opinion, but you are not to subject yourself to it. If someone tells you that you cannot pass an exam for example, it is their opinion, but you do not have to agree with it. In fact, you can prove to yourself that you can pass the exam by studying extensively for it and giving it all it takes. You are the one who is writing the story of your life, not the audience. After all, you are the one who knows your goals, where you are going to, your strengths, weaknesses, and the plans, not them.
In a football match for example, the fans can cheer you up, they can also criticise you for a wrong pass or a goal missed or conceded. They may shout, and even try to suggest some words from the fan's stand. The spectators and the fans may be watching the game, but they do not hold the ball, the players are the ones who hold the ball, and can determine the play. If the players start to listen to every word they say, they will not concentrate to play well. Similarly in life, if you begin to mind every opposition, you will lose your right position. What people think about you should not form your reality. The audience are not the ones writing your book, so they cannot determine how it ends.
More often than not, critics speak from their own fears, from their own lack of understanding, or from sheer negativity. When you want to step out of your comfort zone and take some huge risk, it will make them uncomfortable. Imagine someone who does not have the courage to pursue after their own dreams seeing you about to pursue after your own, what do you think they will do? They may want to pull you down to their level. There are also sometimes that their opposition may not be about you, but may just be a reflection of their own limit. When you understand this, you will not allow their words to influence you negatively, and you will not even take their words personally. You will begin to treat negative words as just noise, not instructions.
Image from Pexels
I was with one of my friends who is a painter, and he was working on a canvas. Then a stranger walked into his studio and saw the half-finished painting and said that it was ugly. He even started advising the painter to change the colour, and all that. The painter smiled and continued because he is the only one who has the vision of the design in his mind. He did not hand over the brush to the stranger to continue, because he knows he had already pictured the destination in his mind, and he was making progress towards that. Even though the work looked messy at that point, but he was focused on it. Adorably, when he finished the painting, it was a masterpiece. When the other guy returned, he could not believe his eyes. He did not believe that the same work he once called "ugly" has become a spectacle. In life, understand that you are the one to determine how your story ends.
In order to achieve great things in life, you have to learn to focus on your goal without allowing noises to make you change your direction. Allow the audience to talk, allow the critics to talk, your responsibility is to focus on writing the chapters of your story. At the end of the day, what matters is how your story ends.
Thanks for reading