I can?t remember where I heard this story, but I love the message it conveys.
There was a climbing competition organized between a?group of?tiny mice. The goal was to reach the top of a really tall tower. A huge crowd gathered to watch the race.? No one in the audience believed that the mice could reach the top because it was such a huge climb and would take forever.?They shouted ?no mouse has ever made it to the top? and ?that?s too difficult? and ?it?s far too high.?
The race began and within a short period of time many of the tiny mice collapsed and fell off the tower.?Some determined mice continued to climb?higher and higher. As the worried crowd lost sight of these mice they shouted louder ?you don?t have to do this? and ?don?t exhaust yourself? and ?you won?t make it.?
As predicted, more little mice collapsed and fell off the tower.? Some still climbing complained of pain and eventually gave up.? Others, tired and battered, heard their peers? complaints and subsequently threw in the towel too.
In the midst of this, one tiny?mouse persisted. She climbed and climbed and climbed. She pushed forward in spite of others failing. The crowd couldn?t believe that she was doing so well. They were astonished.
By now, all the tiny mice had either collapsed or given up ? except for that one. The crowd continued to yell at her, but she never stopped. Undaunted and unaffected she plodded on until she finally reached the top of the tower.?Exhausted, she stood up and waved to the crowd.
When asked about her secret to success, the tiny mouse smiled and signaled to her mother, who then informed the crowd that her daughter was deaf.
When we pursue a new goal, we can often face disapproval, negativity and discouragement from others. Our?natural?reaction when dealing with our critics is to be upset. We beat ourselves up and wonder if something is wrong with us.?And often, we give up. Some of us persist, but with less gusto. Some of us try to convince everyone of our stance. Some of us even cater to their wishes and appease them.
Hopefully you now realize that none of this is necessary.?When dealing with naysayers, negative critics, and people who complain your job is simply to?turn a deaf ear.
Why? Because when you spend even one second dealing with?or thinking?about?naysayers, that?s ONE precious second taken away from working on your goal. When you spend even one ounce of energy tending to or even feeling bad about the negative remarks of your critics, that?s?ONE unit of energy taken away from?progressing towards your goal.
Your job as the owner of your vision is to focus on your goal and pursue it relentlessly. To keep your eye on the prize and to put your best foot forward in achieving it. In time, you will find the negative remarks become softer and the naysayers get smaller. At first, they may ask ?why are you doing this?? but when they see your success and fortitude they will begin asking ?how did you do this?? Those very same people may even become your supporters (because they admire what you have achieved) and begin cheering you on to your next goal.? So, keep climbing no matter what!
Anne runs a monthly Women?s Empowerment Meetup on the Northern Beaches. And offers a FREE 20mins Clarity Call for anyone interested in finding out more about Life Coaching. She has written a book How To Take Back Control of Your Life Now! And produced an online course How To Reignite Your Spark! As well as having blogs and magazine articles published around her expertise as a Women?s Empowerment Coach. To find out more you can visit her website. https://annemckeown.com/