Uncertain times distinguish certain friends – Ennius.
Cicero made the point that false friends are separated from true when the chips are down while at the same time expressing the idea that friendship is the truest comfort of mankind; yet it must be pursued judiciously and worked at diligently.
Our mind can either be a false friend or a true friend.
Our body, it is said, is what the body is fed.
By the same token, the mind is what the mind is fed.
But unlike the food we eat, mind food doesn't come in packages and you can't buy it in a store. Mind food is your environment - all the things which influence your conscious and subconscious thought.
The kind of mind food we consume determines our habits, attitudes, personality.
Each of us have a capacity to develop and fulfill our highest potential and purpose.
How much of that capacity we develop and the way that capacity is developed depends on the mind food we've been fed.
Our mind reflects the mind food we feed it as the body reflects the food we ingest.
A major hindrance on the road to success is the feeling that major accomplishment is beyond us.
When we were children we set high goals and had big dreams. We accepted no limits.
We day dreamed and played. Whatever we wanted to be - doctor, rich and famous, Prime Minister, to be the brightest and the best, world champion.. whatever... we play acted out the role.
We were excited in our make believe and impossible is nothing world.
But what happened?
We were told that it's only child's play and a day dream. That it's naive, wishful thinking, robber talk and that we must manage expectations - that you have to be lucky, have important friends, you too poor, too duncey, too slow, too fat, too skinny, you don't have the right address etc. Life isn't a Hollywood movie. Get real.
Real life success and accomplishment is for others who are lucky or fortunate in some special way.
Robbed of hope. Bereft. Cast adrift. Flotsam going with the tide and current of circumstances. Inadequate for big things.
Some give living their dreams a good shot. They plan for it and work hard but challenges and adversity wear them down and patience runs out and they settle. Concluding that greater success is not worth the effort. Fear steps in. Fear of failure. Fear of social disapproval, Fear of change. Fear of the unknown.
Then there are those who never give up or surrender their dream. They bounce back no matter what defeat and adversity they meet.
They understand and experience the dignity of risk. Everybody has a right to fail, a right to take risks.
They get up each day excited. Life is an adventure. They haven't allowed the dream crushers to rob them of hope and their dreams.
They don't let those who have surrendered or given up convince them to surrender and give up.
Negative thinkers pull you down to their level and rob others of hope.
The seeds of hopelessness are nurtured by despair, negativity and fear. Success comes from the journey and direction in which you are moving.
Negative mind food can only touch your mind, heart and soul if you allow it in.
False Friend or True Friend. It's a choice you make.
People want things now - the system of instant gratification: approval, acceptance and being liked can work against those who pursue a dream.
To reach your highest potential you have to dream in an environment that allows you to dream. Deep within is your highest potential. Dare to dream. Dare to dream of greatness. Dare to hope.
The journey of turning dreams into success is foremost about giving your all and at times you will have to be a rebel with a cause.
It's a choice you make.
Happy 54th Anniversary of Independence Trinidad and Tobago.