Hopes and Aspirations

Some of us seem to go through life with some pre-determined plan in our lives  - where we would be in 5 / 10 / 20 years time. A 9-5 job suits some of us to the ground, it frees up the weekends, gives people some structure to their mundane, same old lifestyle. Some meander through life with the sole intention of earning as much money as possible so as to fund their materialistic pleasures. Some struggle daily through life but do not complain. Some wish on a far gone dream that they think is impossible because their heavy minds weigh down on what they think they can achieve in their lives. Others believe that if they fall at the first hurdle in their way to making their so-called dream a reality means that they should give up that chase, that journey, that dream. No matter what dreams you have in life, there will always be something trying to stop you - the people who try to bring you down with their negative attitude, their lack of belief in your idea, or for no other reason than because they see you as someone they wanted to be - someone who followed their dreams, followed their heart and mind into something the love. If you want to progress through this life, you will need to overcome certain obstacles such as these, you will need to have some dogged determination in your mindset to say you are good enough to achieve those dreams others thought you had no right to.

Mindset is something that can drag us down or aspire us to become better. It is that key factor between deciding whether you yourself will succeed at what you set out to do. No one in life should be able to affect this mindset. There is always room for improvement, nobody is perfect, and all those heroes of yours and mine? They've had lows before they had the highs. They overcame struggle and adversity to become who they are or were. Things in life that are worth having are normally the things that require hard work, commitment and dedication. If you want something enough, you will find a way to succeed. Do not go through life wishing you were living another's life. Do not go through life regretting what you did not have the courage to do years ago. Live the life you are living to the best of your ability and never look at the ground in sadness, fear, and with lack of confidence. Make each step a stride towards the end goal you want to get to. Ignore the people who withhold encouragement and support and only ridicule you when you fall or stumble. Stay around those who support you and your goals. Life is too short to be put in a straight-jacket - restricting yourself from achieving the possible because someone told you it was a long shot. Believe in your own abilities to see things through and you will go far.

To become that person you want to be, the walls surrounding your comfort zone need to be torn down. This may be hard to do for some people, but once these unnecessary restrictions and constraints have been discarded, you will see that you are the master of your own life, no one else. Some go through life making excuses as to why they cannot do something or why they cannot become something else. This is what staying in said comfort zone for too long does to not only your self belief and confidence, but also your ability to see how much this life you are currently living is restricting other things you could be trying. Go travelling, see the world, become who you want to become. There is nothing to stop you from doing what you want to do other than your own mindset.

So, in short, be yourself and keep motivated through thick and thin. Keep your head held high no matter the lows you may go through and always take the positives out of everything that gets thrown your way. Do not let anyone tell you the goals you set yourself are un-achievable. Believe you can and you will find a way! Whatever you do, do not let someone else's supposed hopes and dreams for you be what you aim and strive for. Be your own person, do not live your life according to other people's expectations of yourself. In the future, you want to look back on your life and be glad you tried new things without having the worry of 'if only'. Make this life a memorable one. Live it to the fullest. Have no regrets and never give up on something you want in life.

A few of my favourite motivational quotes to finish off:

'Most fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will'

'What we fear doing most, is usually what we most need to do'

'Unless you change how you are, you'll always have what you got'

'Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better!'

'No matter who you are, what you are, where you are, you can think big'

'What we do in life echoes in eternity'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Whitehead