It Was Easy
I remember back in college when some of my friends returned from the US armed forces basic training. They told very interesting stories. My favorite story is how at graduation they walked around telling each other, ‘It was easy!’ despite the fact that they cried almost every night for six months trying to cope with the rigorous mental and physical training. At graduation it was all over. The pain, the tears, and the effort were transformed in success. Everything they went through made them stronger or how they say it in the ARMY, it made them “ARMY strong” while others became “the few, the proud, the Marines”. All because they didn’t quit as many did. They decided to “aim high”… Well, enough of that. You get the message.
Social cognitive theory explains that people who persevere through challenges acquire a dependable source of efficacy expectations based on performance accomplishments. In other words, facing challenges provide a stronger sense of character allowing people to be prepared to face future obstacles. Without performance accomplishments efficacy expectation grow weaker and people become afraid to face challenges therefore they stop trying and become trapped by the status quo and mediocrity. Efficacy expectations can even transform failure (or what is conceived by some as failure) into corrective experiences which allow them to learn from the experience to try again until they succeed. The process is far from enjoyable but it pays off when it reaches its purpose.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11
Some people quit before they begin. You are not one of them. Don’t quit! Whatever it is you have to face, be assured, you can overcome. You made it through other difficult situations in the past. You can do it again. Use what you learned and the strong character you developed to persevere. Don’t follow the societal pattern that teaches and promotes mediocrity to avoid pain and frustration and as result developing weaker and weaker individuals. A challenge might not seem easy now but you will look back and say, ‘It was easy!’.
I Believe in Dreams
People is always impressed when I tell them my story. I’ve been drawing since I was very little. In third grade I could already draw by looking at stuff. In fifth grade I spent the year painting history related murals in the classroom. I was always involved in something ‘artistic’ in school. However, when the time came to apply to college, I applied to study civil engineering. The day I was filling up paperwork for the application my father sat next to me and asked me what was I doing so I explained. His response was:
“Why? You love art. You are going to be miserable if you do anything else.”
He was right. After the first year I was already leaving civil engineering and moving into arts. (I’ll save the story of that transition for a different post.) Needless to say I’m here now with a long journey in front of me still. My dream is not complete yet, but I can say it is getting there.
This journey makes me think of Joseph. The first time I heard the story of Joseph I became fascinated with it. Yes, it is in the Bible (Genesis 37 and on). Joseph had dreams and the gift of interpreting dreams for others. His character also had to be tested because of that. First thing I learned from this story: Be careful who you share your dreams with and how. Joseph made enemies out of his own brothers because of his dreams. Sadly, we are going to make enemies because of our dreams, gifts, and abilities. Rest assured, “the haters” (it even sounds funny when I write it) will one day bow down. That’s not the point or what we are looking for. I am learning to pray for the success of “them” and grace, just like the one I received.
As I mentioned before, Joseph’s character had to be tested. We go through life trying to make sense of the paths we have taken and how it all fits into our dream. We might be living the roller coaster life and on each turn it seems like we are about to touch our dream and we miss it. We take another path, and another, and feels like just isolated experiences. Maybe we are collecting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and one day we will make sense of the bigger picture. Hold on to your dream!