Desperately Dating Articles Be a Cheerleader, Not a Critic

Be a Cheerleader, Not a Critic

Early on my business coach advised me to only tell those who will cheer me on about my business idea, wish I had listened.

I’m not sure if this is really a dating and relationship article, but there’s a tie somewhere in there because it is about supporting the dreams of those we love.

I have an idea for a business that is based on my years of experience in healthcare. It utilizes my strengths and experience at a high level that also suits who I am today which is different than who I was when I started out in this field over 20 years ago. I’ve been at turns contemplating, massaging and even trying to stifle and ignore this idea for several years. But, I feel like I keep getting nudges form the universe, some not so subtle!, to pursue this idea and make it a reality. So I’ve decided to listen, play it out. Fucking scary, but, exciting too. So, I went ahead into the unknown, set up shop and now I’m waiting to see what happens.

Enter my family. They have such a tendency to see what is potentially wrong; they tenaciously look for the holes in my idea and give me unsolicited advice about better ways to run my business all of which leads me to feel incredibly discouraged. I’m on an epic journey and I invited them to be a part of that, but now I feel like they are sinking the ship instead of being helpful ballast! They are well-meaning, it comes from a place of love (I think), but wtf?! I am going to thank them for their feedback, appreciate their effort to care for me, never ask what they think again and move on with my plan. I am effectively closing that door that I foolishly opened because it is not helpful to my dreams. That hurts, but it is practical more than emotional at this point. I care more abut pursuing my dreams than I do about gaining their approval anymore. In the words of Sir Richard Branson, “screw it, let’s do it”.