Don’t Bring Yourself Down

If you claim to really love yourself, your dreams, and your future, why do you again pull yourself down at every opportunity? Stop what you’re doing; let’s briefly think together!

Our Ugandan team at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast did very well, surprising sceptics with gold and silver medals! It reminded me of two weeks ago at the Inspired Leaders International office in Kampala, when M/s. Agnes Nabende – a calm, composed and collected lady – said: “I may not be UP there, but I don’t want to bring myself DOWN.” I immediately wrote it on the white board at office as the quote of the day.

You may quickly say, “I am not among those who bring themselves down.” Well, that can be determined by where you stand on the following ways how some people do it:

1. Speaking negatively of their ability, calling that being honest with self. (“I know I am very weak.”)
2. Volunteering to discourage themselves under the guise of being “realistic”. (“I can’t manage that.”)
3. Cancelling private prayers with public declarations. (“I don’t give a damn if you don’t like my products” – after praying, “Lord bring more customers.”)
4. Frequently associating with voluntary discouragers whose major “strength” is being negative and sceptic about every idea.
5. Always editing dreams downwards, calling it “adjusting to new realities”!
6. Isolating yourself from others who are swinging into positive action.
7. Refusing to believe other people’s positive and genuine compliments, pushing away comments such as “You’re smart”.

Now come to think of it: why do some people bring themselves down like that?

I volunteer some 6 possible answers below:

1. They have a mountain of low self-esteem and don’t believe they deserve “UP there”. So whenever they rise, their heart whispers: “Bring yourself back to where I think you belong.”
2. They’ve been hit on every side by other people’s disparaging remarks that centred around “toning down on ambition”. So whenever they aspire for greater, they remember the verdict of their company.
3. They’ve had a storm of painful experences and allowed those situations to punch their morale down to zero. So when they take a step forward, they take two backwards to avoid the possibility of more pain.
4. They’ve received a technical knockout from several failed attempts and now believe they shouldn’t dare try again.
5. They’ve often compared themselves with others who seem to be doing better, looking better, and worth more. So the negative self-consciousness keeps them afraid.
6. They think they’re being humble by pulling themselves down. They’ve been told not to tell others that they’re well. So they cut their reality into half to look humble!

Here therefore, are 3 quick issues for you to really think about from today:

1. Building self-confidence and having a high self-esteem will protect you from internal insecurities and external exploitation.
2. Past failed attempts have no power over your current aspirations unless you allow them to.
3. Other people’s words are neither prescriptive of how you should live your life nor descriptive of the colour of your future.

In conclusion, let’s listen again to the words of Agnes: “I may not be UP there, but I don’t want to bring myself DOWN.” Remember, no one (I repeat: NO ONE) can step on your back unless YOU bend it. While you may not yet be “up there” where you want to be, be glad you are no longer “down there” where you used to be, and thus do not pull yourself down where you don’t deserve to be.

Fantastic day!

#YouWillManage

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