Inspiration in an unlikely place

I must admit that I have neglected writing a new entry since I started my blog in July because I wasn’t inspired.  I literally thought a bolt of lightning would strike each time I needed to write, and I would crank out droves of impassioned thoughts.  But, as the year draws to a close, I realized that all along, I have been ignoring sources of inspiration all around me, such as workouts with my husband, chats with friends and naysayers, encouragement from complete strangers, and reality TV. 

I know some of you may consider the final source a bit shallow or completely implausible, but hear me out.  While watching one of my favorite reality shows, “Love and Hip Hop”, Chrissy, one of the main personalities, said, “No one is going to give you what you deserve.”  She continued speaking, but my thoughts kept returning to that statement.  Even though she made the statement in relation to her hard-fought quest to marry her long time boyfriend, it struck home, and I knew it contained some sort of lesson for me. 

Then, I got it.  It doesn’t matter if you are the strongest, fastest, prettiest or smartest athlete, model, competitor, employee etc., unless you put yourself in a position to achieve your goals, your efforts probably will fall short.  Now, this is by no means an attempt to discount the importance of merit, but in this day and age, merit appears to be a baseline upon which people who are driven anchor their goals.  Just because you have the looks, speed or education that merits accolades on various levels, doesn’t mean that someone is just going to walk up to you and hand you what you have rightfully earned.

Merit, backed by a heavy dose of networking, marketing, negotiating, or any other type of word ending in “ing” that makes people pay attention to your accomplishments, gets results.  I have actually noticed this from reading the biographies of highly accomplished individuals, whose respective roads to success were littered with obstacles of all kinds.  The one characteristic that these individuals seem to share is their ability to keep brandishing their talents, even in pursuit of the most minimal leads.  These are people who continue to sing, dance, write, and train with the utmost devotion, even when no one appears to be paying attention, and they are my heroes.

So, for all of you who, like myself, have lofty and seemingly unattainable goals, note that your plans must include a heavy dose of the type of tenacity that will allow you to keep going, even when people ignore or discount your accomplishments.  Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn, because sometimes, you’re the only one who will have an interest in doing so.  And finally, keep the faith.  Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone and engaging in a good fight for your dreams will reap benefits. 

I wish you all the best while you pursue your goals in 2012.  I’ll be fighting along with you.