So you have this big shiny new plan for your life and you are super excited that you have actually started taking steps to making a reality of your wildest fantasy
Awesome
You feel the need to spread the love to as many people as possible. Friends, family members, spouses, and even the homeless guy you see with the same unoriginal sign every day on your drive to work seem to be appropriate targets for your cheerfulness
In your attempts to spread the love, you inadvertently break your vow of humbleness and begin on the path of gloating
Your gloating quickly turns to lecturing; about how the people in your life should be jumping on your “get shit done” bandwagon and going for gold just like you
“Be Like Mike” seems to your new motto (replacing Mike with your name of course)
I am in full blown support for people trying to change other people’s lives, but many people make this critical mistake of stepping on other people’s toes and telling them how to live their life
As much as you think other people should make changes in their life, it’s not your call
It’s up to your friends, family, and even that homeless guy with the sign to decide to make a change in their own lives. This would be a change that they want
You cannot assume that other people want to change any aspect of their life, let alone what that change might be
Even if people complain to you about how their life isn’t the way they want it, it is not your position to tell them “how it is”
Only after these people decide that change is needed, and they come to you looking for a resource or an idea, then share with them things that helped you, and leave it at that
It is their responsibility and advantageous for them to follow down the same path of self discovery that you did, with the only expectations being in life threatening situations
They will go much further on their own path than ever if they had you there to hodl their hand the whole time
In those special moments when people truly want some sound advice, merely act like a signpost and help to point them on the path that has less heartache and more challenges
To wrap it up, I am damn proud of you for making a change, and even happier that you want to help to make changes in other people’s lives as a result
Just don’t force the change, let it happen
Don’t be stepping on toes
Gabriel
Hey Gabe,
When you want people to change, an easy axiom to go by is this:
SHOW, DON’T TELL.
Set an example, and people will follow… Eventually (if they even want to).
P.S. Keep in touch and we should skype sometime, bro. Email me for ID.
Just what I was thinking. Your update was amazing. To get your lover back is not the hardest of the accomplishments But it for sure may take some time