I get it. I do. You didn’t finish college. You didn’t take the job back then, therefore, you didn’t advance your career and can’t apply for the jobs you want now. You didn’t lose the weight. You didn’t take yoga. You didn’t take your vitamins. You don’t feel as though you possess that killer personality it seems you must have to make the right connections. You are too short. Too tall. Too extroverted. Too introverted. Too… you.
But I ask, why not you?
Why can’t you chase the wild and crazy dreams?
The bottom line is that you don’t think you deserve it. You don’t think you deserve to dream wild dreams because you aren’t the shiniest, jazziest, smartest of them all. It’s as if everyone else has regular access to some sort of jackpot and you missed it.
Guess what? The most respected, influential, successful women in the world were born with the same birthright you were: the right to dream. You, yes you, the girl who was picked last, the girl who feels as though her past failures disqualify her, the girl who feels like her lack of connections will always be the reason she doesn’t pursue her dreams, you can. You heard that right. You can dream.
Do you remember when you were little and you dreamed of being a farmer, or a teacher, or a sticker maker (thank you, Lisa Frank)? You didn’t disqualify yourself for any of the reasons you do now. You assumed that you had it in you to do anything. We lose that confidence when rejection, of one sort or another, hits us between the eyes. However rejection found us, the message our soul received is that we aren’t smart enough, resourced enough, or strong enough to do what it is we thought we could do.
As adults, we have the opportunity to let that rejection or failure cripple us or we can frame it as an opportunity to grow. To learn. To lean into the losses that have the ability to shape us in ways success never will. Rejection is a teacher, one that is not always the friendliest of teachers, but a teacher nonetheless. Our rejection doesn’t have to be the loudest voice in our lives, telling us why we don’t deserve to chase our dreams. Our willingness to get back up again, after we were picked over, dismissed, told to sit down, or shut up, is what will push us to a place that we find ourselves shouting, “Why not me? I didn’t finish college, I wasn’t the fastest, I am not the smartest, I rarely take vitamins, but by golly, I am an overcomer and my rejection does not define my future, my hopes, my dreams.”
Because you, sister, were born to dream. Born to conquer, born to fly, born to risk, born to sacrifice, born to chase the dreams that keep you up at night. Just because someone else could do it, doesn’t mean you can’t. There’s room for you. There’s room for your story. There’s room for your dream.
I ask once more, why not you?
This post was inspired by my latest book, She Dreams: Live the Life You Were Created For available wherever books are sold. 