Speak Less

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 20 Assignment: Speak Less by Laura Kimball

I once received a fortune cookie that read: “Speak less of your plans, you’ll get more done.” What’s one project that you’ve been sitting on and thinking about but haven’t made progress on? What’s stopping you? What would happen if you actually went for it and did it?

This prompt seems like a bit of a contradiction. If I'm to speak less of my plans, then why would I write about them and publish them for the world to see?

I have always been a firm believer in keeping your dreams sacred. I think there is a certain amount of power that is dissipated when we speak about our dreams -- at least with just anyone. As Emerson so aptly penned, "you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." 



I think there is a great creative power that goes to work on our dreams when we hold them in our imagination; fleshing them out; seeing ourselves living our dreams; feeling what it would feel like to experience them. They say the mind can't tell the difference between an actual experience and one that is imagined. I believe that's why God instructed Joshua to meditate on the Word day and night (Joshua 1:8).

But, how many times have you been really excited about something and you just had to share it with a friend or family member, but they didn't share your enthusiasm? Maybe he was just having a bad day, and it was reflected in his lackluster response. Or maybe she really thought your idea was terrible and wouldn't succeed so she shot you down.

What happened to your dream then? Were you able to maintain your same level of enthusiasm?

Yes, Emerson also said that what people thought of him didn't concern him, and that doing what you must do regardless is what makes the the difference between being great or merely being average.

That's all well and fine, but I'm not sure I was blessed with such fortitude. I think I prefer to hedge my bet and keep my dreams sacred while I quietly work on bringing them to pass.

Now, once I've done the work, I have no problem unveiling my masterpiece, at which point I can ignore the nay-sayers and align myself with those who appreciate what I've done.

So, what's my project? Right now it's a website that I'm busily working on developing in the evenings and on the weekends. I haven't been sitting on it and not making progress. My progress is just slow due to time constraints. What will happen when it's completed? I suppose only time will tell...

I should have it finished within the next few weeks, and I'll be sure to post a link here so that you can take a look. If you then want to comment, good or bad, I'll be ready to listen.

#Trust30 Day Twenty