Who is stopping you? | Ayn Rand quotes | Find her on Amazon.
The question isn’t who is going to let me its who is going to stop me.
Ayn Rand
There are a lot of situations in life where we seek approval from others or rely on their advice to make our decisions.
“My mom won’t let me wear this short dress at the school’s annual party,” “Will my boss let me take charge of this presentation?”, “I don’t think my partner will support my idea of solo traveling”, etc.
What did you make of these examples?
In all the examples above, you get the idea that because of so-and-so reason, one cannot do so-and-so things.
What went unnoticed here?
But, the main point itself is unclear here – what the person wants to do. Does the person really want to wear a short dress or not? Does this guy want to lead? Or is this person interested in solo traveling in the first place?
What matters is who is stopping you.
Who is stopping you? Your mom or your boss or your partner, or you yourself?
Excusing yourself for not doing something is very easy by quickly pointing to others or external factors.
If you don’t want to do something, the first excuse that comes to your mind you say it out loud instead of expressing your unwillingness.
If you want to do something but aren’t sure enough, you point out others for not letting you do that instead of clarifying your surety.
What happens here?
What goes wrong here in the long run is:
- We become habitual in pointing out others or external factors for actions we could not do.
- Our thoughts and desires go unnoticed, and they all pile up in our heads negatively.
My conclusion:
Take ownership of your actions or no actions because no one can stop you unless you want it.
When the desire to do something is strong, and the decision to stick by it is firm, you’ll always find ways to make others agree with you sooner or later.
Surbhi Mahnot
