There are many people who aren’t doing what they love, aren’t going after their dreams and are living a life of fear. Why is that?
I think there are many reasons but one of the reasons that comes up over and over in many people’s lives is the notion of peer pressure.
I find it useful to think of it like a bird’s nest. In our lives, we are like baby birds stuck high in a tree in a bird’s nest. We will be a part of many nests – for our family, our friends, our jobs, our sports teams, etc. Each nest will have different dynamics but ultimately they will all have a very similar possible outcome.
When we are all in the nest together and we rely on mamabird to bring us food, everyone is happy and safe. But the second one of the birds decides to try to fly, everyone else gets scared because if you fly out on your own, that means that mom will expect them to as well and unless they’re ready to fly on their own, they will try to pull you back into the bird’s nest since they like being safe in the nest.
For those of us who like to challenge ourselves and are constantly going to the edge of the nest, we will find that there are many people who like being safe in the nest so they will try to talk us down from the edge with negativity and hate.
When you find yourself in that situation, you need to find another nest to spend your time in. Life is too short to spend with other people who don’t support you and always try to keep you down and from going after your dreams. We also shouldn’t be in a community that constantly tries to push us over the edge of the nest since that’s not good either.
We deserve to be a part of a supportive community. A community who cheers for us when we take that leap and if we get scared and don’t like what we see, will welcome us back with open arms and accept you for who you are.
Sometimes we need to look at the different nests we’re in and ask ourselves if it’s time to find a new one.