A lot of people have the belief that where they come from can actually determine how far they can go in life. They tend to believe that their family circumstances, background, educational limitations, financial struggles, and their difficult environments, can become a permanent label on them. What they fail to understand is that it is true that all these can influence their starting point, but it should not determine their future. You may not have had a control of how you started or your background, but you have control of how you will end. What shapes your future is not necessarily your background but your choices, decisions, mindset, actions, determination, perseverance, and your willingness to grow beyond your limitations.
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In the journey of life, your background is just a chapter of the story, not the entire book. For example, that you are born into hardship does not mean that you are destined to remain in that situation. There was a particular president of the country who ascended into the office in a very unusual way after the demise of the president. He said that while growing up, they had next to nothing. In fact, they were so poor that even the poor in the community regarded them as poor. He said that he once had no shoes to even go to school. His background may have been seen as a disadvantage to him, but it did not prevent him from achieving the highest political office in the country. This is just to prove to you that your background does not define your future.
History is full of people who have achieved greatness even from humble beginnings. They did not have to deny their background, but they never allowed it to deny them of the possibilities that lie in the future. Your past or even your background is not meant to trap you, but you are to rise above it. Background is just a definition of where you started from, but it does not define where you should end your life's journey. When you come to terms with this truth, you will learn to take control of your life, and become more intentional about your choices, and what you do.
No matter what had happened in the past, and no matter where you started from, do not allow negative experiences to become an excuse for you. It is true that challenges are real, and sometimes not preventable, it can also be painful, but dwelling on them can limit your progress. A lot of the people you admire their progress in their fields of endeavour might not even had had a fair start, but they did not allow it to stop them from achieving greatness. They found a way to turn their adversity into motivation. They turned failure to lessons, rejections to fuel, and challenges to motivation. It is true that the past may have shaped you, but you should not allow it to have control over you.
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It is worthy to note that your mindset plays a fundamental role in shaping your future. If you constantly remind yourself that your background is a limitation to you, or that someone like you cannot make it, it will subconsciously block you from seeing opportunities. But when you see yourself that no matter what happens, that you can succeed, then you will begin to see new opportunities even when others see challenges. You have to understand that growth starts from the mind before it manifests externally. Believing in your abilities and in your potentials is not arrogance, but it is actually a foundation for achieving success.
You also need to understand that growth is a process, not something that happens overnight. You cannot expect to change your future with just an overnight effort. It requires time, discipline, determination, perseverance, and then being intentional about your life. No step that you take is ever wasted, as long as it is in the right direction. Each step that you take will build momentum for you and will also take you closer to creating the kind of future that you need. The result may not appear at once, but definitely it will appear and it will be worth it.
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