I dream a lot. Every single day in fact. I dream about making my life as bold as possible, constantly striving to better myself in some way.
I dream about finishing my novel. I dream about travelling every inch of the world. I dream about owning a house by the sea and writing everything there is to write.
I dream big, sure. I aspire to live my life so fully that I will be able to look back and say, damn, you lived it hard and you lived it well.
Yet, there are these people. The dream crushers, let's call them. These are the people that will do everything in their power to break down your dream, bit by bit.
They're not there championing you on. They don't encourage, praise or even acknowledge your bravery, your ambition. In a simple handful of words they force it into a tiny box and throw away the key.
And it hurts. It hurts that you can open yourself up so unequivocally, to be so clear in your determination, yet still be told you are wrong. That you are stupid, even immature for thinking such a thing to be possible. In one fatal swoop you find yourself questioning your deepest desires; the ones that make you, you.
It takes a lot to lay your heart out on a platter, hopelessly preparing yourself for the vultures to attack. To put yourself in the firing line and risk losing your passion forever. To wait for that lethal knock to your confidence, the bruising of your ego. Perhaps they don't understand? Perhaps they simply want to prepare you for the inevitable fall?
Either way, they constrain you.
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain.
He summed it up well.
Because for every one person critiquing my aspirations, I have a whole team of people cheering me on. My tribe, constantly pushing me forward to never let go.
It doesn't matter what it is you strive for. What matters is that they are your ambitions; and your ambitions can never be too big. Whether you want to build a family, start a business or write an award-winning screenplay; you can do it. You can do it because you have the fervour and the drive to do anything. You can do it because the longing for it runs through your blood. You can do it because you control your own happiness and destiny.
To achieve more in life, we cannot be held back by the shackles of uncertainty and self-doubt. We must allow ourselves to be fearless. We must tear up "How?" and replace it with "Why not?"
Do not be deterred by these people, for they do not understand the indisputable hunger that fuels your dreams. They want to keep you small, as they do not understand what it is to be big. Take pride in your ability to seek the greatest life imaginable, and grab it with both hands.
I will not be disparaged by the dream crushers. And I will prove to them that my goals should not be underestimated. I will keep on reaching until I get to the top.
Read more of Amber's work at Buttercup Belle.