Destined for Greatness

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Maggie Hadley Crook: "I'm pretty much destined for greatness. I'm just pacing myself so I don't freak you out."

Thanks, Maggie. But I already knew that about you, so hurry up and get to your greatness!

Seriously, though, even if this post is supposed to be funny, there's a lot of truth to it. A lot of people hold back their greatness because of the ones they love. Mothers forget their passions because being a Mom is more important, or so they say. Fathers take jobs they hate, and work them 12 hours a day because they need to support the family. Sons and daughters go to schools or jobs their parents want them to go to, so they can become what their parents didn't.

People hold off on their own greatness, their own passions, their own dreams because they don't want to freak their loved ones out, so to speak. They don't want to ruffle feathers, make waves, or be selfish. But is it entirely selfless to live a life for someone else? To embark on someone else's dreams and adventures? To abandon all inner peace in order to satisfy another person's soul? How selfless do you become, when all at once your actions speak louder than words...you start to have regrets, remorse, resentment? You yell instead of hug. You're too tired to do anything but watch t.v. and go to bed. You feel stuck in your life, a life you didn't choose, a life that strangles you. And you start to hate. And you start to covet. And you start to keep little things for yourself, because it's all you have to call your own. And you start to lie. Or drink too much. Or even worse, just stop talking, loving, hoping, changing, and feeling.

What sometimes, or a lot of times, people miss is that in order to truly be selfless, you must be happy within yourself. You must give to yourself what you want, what you dream of. Or at least try. Your children or mothers and fathers will be much happier in the end if you are passionate, open, and live an honest life. The greatness you achieve, and I promise you this, will forever change the people around you. There's no getting around that. But there is no fear to be had, because the people who mean the most will thank you for it, in some way, forever.