Do What Others Say You Can't

There’s nothing like proving other people wrong. When you do what other people say you can’t, not only is this a personal triumph, it’s also an act of justice against people who are old-fashioned, who will never look at you sincerely, respectfully, or closely.

Everyone knows that our society is obsessed with comparison, especially in the sphere of education, which labels us at an early age. In the back of the classroom sit the supposed “bad students” who, teachers secretly predict, will never amount to anything. Because children who get D’s are simply not capable of achieving.

Education has become an often traumatic experience. We have great teachers, but the system and the methods don’t accommodate them. The focus on standardization is insensitive to the needs of the students and results in a self-fulling prophecy. If you failed in high school, you will fail in life.

But there’s another problem that can affect an individual’s education: their family. Growing up in an unfavorable, discriminatory, or sexist environment can poison you with a defeatist attitude that can be very hard to defend yourself against.

When achieving something involves breaking away from everything

Sometimes, the process of achieving something effectively involves breaking away from everything. Structural rebellion requires an internal revolution that not everyone is capable of. It’s necessary to break down the educational models, ingrained family values, and limiting thought patterns that once cornered you into unhappiness.

Like we said before, it isn’t exactly easy, especially for women. We can’t forget, in this era of progress, that there are many women who see their aspirations shot down by the patriarchal mechanisms that continue to reign in many families.

The interesting book Resilience and Triumph: Immigrant Women Tell Their Stories discusses the difficult process that many Indian, Arab, and Mexican immigrant women go through in order to move to other countries. These women are an example of daily struggle against adversity. On the one hand, they have to fight to pave the way their families in a new society. However, there is another silent, dark, and delicate fight that people don’t usually talk about.

We’re referring to the challenges that they go through in their private lives. The patriarchy continues to define spaces for women with their parents, partners, and families. Reclaiming their place women and encouraging new generations to do so is a great example of resilience. But these are difficult things that no one talks about.

These women are anonymous names and faces that show their strength, courage, and eagerness to advance, to achieve an equal status.

The admirable mentality of people who accomplish their goals

Success has nothing to do with having a lot of money in the bank, or a big house, or a sports car, or any other material thing. The greatest triumph in life is having the freedom to be yourself and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished. It’s not about always winning, it’s about never giving up on your goal of touching the stars, achieving your dreams, and finding the personal balance that allows you to say “I’m good, I don’t want anything else.”

The most difficult obstacle to victory is the patterns of thought that we’ve been taught since we were young. Schools that label and segregate produce students who follow the self-fulfilling prophecy that they’re not worth anything. These students learn to believe that they don’t deserve to achieve their dreams. In the same way, families that clip their children’s wings and poison them with antiquated and limiting ideas also prevent them from following their hearts.

It’s necessary to cut ties with the people who hold you back as soon as possible, to just rip the band-aid off. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts, nor does it matter what consequences there might be, if in doing so, you gain authority, self-esteem, and freedom.

Success isn’t reliant upon being more intelligent, competent, or extroverted. In order to achieve your desires, you have to have a mentality of growth. Never tell yourself you can’t do it. People who are capable of focusing their emotional and psychological mechanisms towards growth view adversity as an opportunity to develop new skills.

Whether you believe it or not, there is always hope. Nothing is set in stone. Don’t let narrow minds and oppressive systems take away your dreams or your dignity. Don’t let yourself give up. Success is nothing more than an attitude towards life.