It seems like yesterday when I was told that I would never amount to anything. I always vividly remember those words and those very words stuck with me for the rest of my life but these words didn't stick the way you think.
You may be wondering who said these words to me?
It was certainly not my parents as you might first think. Although, some people may have thought this given that I was a headstrong young man always rebelling at what I was told to do or how to do something. You are right in that I certainly had my own way of doing things and you are right in that I did not like to follow rules - or rules that I thought were stupid or totally illogical, or what could be considered a double standard.
Now, back to who told me those memorable words? It all started in high school and the school principal. At this time, I also learned all about favouritism and who your family was and what they did for a living. I made what I thought was a simple request of the principal and this request was one that had been granted to certain individuals before. What I couldn't understand was that his reply was a definite "no way". I asked him why? He said it could not be done because it was against school policies. I argued in disagreement indicating precisely whom he had approved for the same request. It didn't matter - the answer was no.
To make a long story short, I became very annoyed with the principal and continued to argue the point. He, in turn, proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that I would never amount to anything. There was nothing else I could do, so I left his office.
Needless to say, I was very upset at these very negative words. I graduated from high school, barely, and took the first job I could find all the while thinking that this was probably all I would end up doing - that is, menial jobs. But, I didn't want to believe the principal - it seemed that, on the one hand he was right because I did not go on to college or university or even have a great job. Over the next couple of years, I bounced from one job to the next never being satisfied but always remembering what that high school principal had said.
Then, one day I got really angry . . . .
Angry with myself - angry with the person who, for years, always did his own thing despite the odds or despite the rules. Right then and there, I decided that I would not be put down; I decided that I had a choice about what I would amount to in life and not someone else. I decided that I would be what I wanted to be despite what this principal thought and said. As I concluded my own conversation with myself, I had another thought.
Maybe, just maybe, that principal did me a big favour; maybe he was trying to get me upset so that I would change my ways, change my haughty attitude, and fight to be more than maybe I expected of myself at that time. Or, maybe he was just a poor educator unable to properly motivated, or even how to treat everyone fairly no matter their family background or what clubs their parents belonged to, or what social circle they were part of.
Did I Change? Well, I did change; I did make a choice and a choice that would put me on the road to a university education and beyond. And, a change that made me believe in myself and that I had what it took to make of myself whatever I wanted. I made the choice; I made the bed I lie in; I made of me what I wanted to make not anybody else.
As Time Went On... As the years have rolled on by, I have often recounted that day at high school and what ended up as a postive not a negative. The real message for me and for everyone else is this: you have a choice, you can do what you want with your life as long as you do not listen and believe others who say you will never amount to anything. We all have a choice; some of these choices to be more and have more will not be easy - but then, what is challenging to do in the long run is worth every minute because you did it knowing it was your choice. So, pick yourself up, move forward and be what you want and everything you can be right now - start today!
by Byron Pulsifer, © 2011
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz
No comments:
Post a Comment