When I started my business I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a lot of supportive people who encouraged me to succeed. But there were one of two who wanted to discourage my ambitions and tried to put me down. These people refused to acknowledge the value of creativity and thought what I wanted to do was pointless - doomed to failure. Their ignorance meant they couldn’t accept there are possibilities outside the traditional 9-to-5 job.
If you’re struggling to deal with people who don’t believe in you, here are some reminders.
Not everyone will understand
Not everyone who discourages you is a bad person trying to destroy your ambition. It’s not always personal or an attack on your skills or talents, it’s simply not everyone understands why you want to do what you want to do. If they don't understand how something works and or know all the facts, it's hard for them to be positive about your goals, which can seem dauntingly ambitious.
Other people’s insecurities get in the way of giving good advice
When people don’t support what you’re doing, it says more about them than it does about you. It’s hard for people to give advice on something they know very little about and often it causes them to default to criticising or picking holes in your plans. The fear of the unknown means when people don’t understand what you’re trying to do, it can make them push you into doing what they know how to do and discourage you from any other path. If someone doesn’t believe in their own skills and talents, your ambitions can cause jealousy - don’t take it to heart. Remember if someone is trying to discourage you it says more about their fears and insecurities than it does about your own creative talents.
Listen to constructive criticism
Sometimes we’re so wrapped up in what we want to do, we only see the positive and neglect to acknowledge the pitfalls. Be open and receptive to other people’s criticism providing it’s constructive and take on board suggestions you might not have thought about. But don’t be afraid to ignore any criticism that is born through bitterness, spite, or the fear of the unknown.
Get rid of negative influences
There are some people who you can simply afford to be without; anyone who tries to put you down, refuses to acknowledge your creativity, or attempts to sabotage your success - get rid of them, you don’t need them in your life. Most of all: don’t listen to their negativity.
You can do it without them
You don’t need other people to believe in what you want to do, you can be a success without them. Surround yourself with positive people; find your creative allies; work hard; believe in yourself.
