Have you ever thought that it does not matter if you try, since one person cannot make a difference in society (or in anything)? At some stage in our life we probably all do, hesitating, and wondering if continuing with our efforts is worthwhile. Admit it. The difference here, in becoming really successful, is to believe, and never to give up on our dreams, whatever comes our way, and no matter how big the obstacles sometimes may seem. After all, frictions and hardships usually are a sign of us doing something correct.
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them”.
(Bruce Lee)
Do you know where your limits are? Have you ever challenged yourself into pushing those limits further? Do you have any limits at all? Or do you always give up, listening to that voice inside your head whispering “oh no, don´t do it – you´ll never make it anyway, it is not worth giving a try”.
The next time you have an inner or outer conflict – try to calm down, be objective, and analyze where that feeling comes from. Yes, feeling.
We have only one sense, the sense of feeling. All other senses are different forms of the same sense: to see, hear, touch, smell or taste IS to feel. Therefore, all senses lead to feeling.
Our basic feelings are:
-Complacency/pleasure
-Fear
-Anger
-Disgust
-Sorrow
-Astonishment
(Kymäläinen, M. University of Tampere. 9.9.2014).
It is all right to have different kinds of feelings, and the easiest way of coping with them is to accept them as a part of our everyday lives. How we handle our feelings is another thing, and it does make a difference whether we focus more on the positive, or the negative ones.
As the old Cherokee legend where a grandfather teaches his grandson an important life lesson says:
“The grandfather explains to the young boy about the battle we all have going on inside of us.
Grandfather: “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee replied simply, “The one you feed.”
I found an interesting article about this in The Huffington Post (Andrea Wachter: “Which Wolf are You Feeding?” Quoted 10.9.2014). You may want to read it.
Every single day I get inspired by many different people, acquaintances, friends, or complete strangers.
Planning my first official half marathon, I have been reading articles and sites about running, and came across a site about ultra runners. Ultra runs are all runs that are longer than a marathon (42,195 km), the shortest of which is 30 miles (48,280 km). The longest ultra runs can be thousands of kilometers and last for several months.
A Norwegian ultra runner, Mensen Ernst (1795-1843), earned his living by running across the world from one city to another, sometimes betting about the time, and other times delivering letters. He was a celebrity known as the “King of Running”.
His first long run was 116 km, from London to Portsmouth, in nine hours, where after he became even more famous by running 240 km from London to Liverpool in 32 hours. He became such a well-known runner that even kings paid to just in order to see him running. In 1832, he ran from Paris to Moscow, 2.500 km in 14 days, running 178 km per day.
What is the lesson behind this story?
That we all should become ultra runners?
Of course not.
This story, along with the story about the two wolves, is just to remind us about how we can make a difference in our own lives, and even in whole societies, with the right attitude and by being passionate about what we do.
What is your dream? What are you passionate about?
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the start to change the world”.
(Harriet Tubman)
Anne-Maria Yritys 