The Countdown – Day 14: You Don’t Have To Convince Others

Unfortunately, the line between your convictions and other people’s convictions is often blurred.

You may feel obliged to accept other people’s convictions, or demand that they accept yours.

This problem can halt your progress in life, since you can’t move a step forward with your own convictions when there’s someone, somewhere who happens to disagree with you.

Others may tell you that you can’t achieve your goals. And rather than focus your time, energy and attention on your goals, you dedicate yourself to changing their convictions to match yours.

Then, and only then, will you give yourself permission to move towards your goals.

But the fact is, you don’t have to convince others to accept your convictions.

All you have to do is live according to your own convictions.

The world makes sense to you according to how you see it, and you should act according to that understanding. You can’t take action according to other people’s understanding of the world, be they your parents, friends, managers, or any authority figure.

Think of every goal that you have, and whether you’ve attached a “yes, but Person X doesn’t believe I can do it/think it’s right/cares about this” to that goal. If you have, then you’re living your life through someone else’s convictions.

Remind yourself that you have a mind of your own, and that you should respect your own convictions, as well as give others the space to form their own convictions, without them defining how you will live your life.