Surround yourself with people that want the best for you
Tags: Lifestyle, Football, Sports, Soccer, Self Improvement

Having the right people around you is powerful beyond measure. Rather than asking yourself who supports you in your pursuit of becoming a footballer, ask yourself, who doesn’t support your dream? It may be your friends, or closer to that, you’re partner or even your family. However, don’t be deterred. At the end of the day, they have their opinions and you have yours, it’s your choice to decide what kind of life that you would like to have for yourself. If they don’t agree with your life choices, it doesn’t mean they are your enemies or you are theirs, they just don’t agree with a certain aspect of what you would like to do and that is fine as long as your reasoning is supported by real passion.

If you’re focused on listening to the people that aren’t aligned with your decisions, sooner or later that influence of negativity and disapproval will begin to rub-off and lead to quitting football entirely, if you let it. Hearing the judgment of others takes a toll on people — the emotional attachment — especially if it is from people who are close to you and are discouraging something that you love.

Sometimes this skepticism in view comes from a place of good intention. It might just be that the people closest to you are worried that it is too big of a feat and the lack of experience at the beginning of your career could set you up for failure. It could also be the fact that they fear for your physical wellbeing and the possibility of suffering an injury, which could end your career short. But, these are all thoughts that like a dream ask, “What if”… It is here that we can recognise as individuals that we place ourselves in a position of our dreams in which we have a positive outlook, “What if I become a professional footballer, that would be amazing”, in comparison to the well intentioned thoughts of our friends and family — that are more reluctant -who think, “What if you pursue football as a career, but you are unsuccessful during your trials…” Both are two viewpoints, but have one common factor, you can’t find out the answer to either, unless you try, so take action!

When in pursuit of the ideal life that you dream of, it goes without question that you will face failures. Nevertheless, if you love the career that you are striving for and the passion outweighs the struggle, you will find that in your moments of defeat you gain a hell of a lot more knowledge and development through experiencing the ups and downs that come about. Ultimately, if you are willing to commit to seeking a better quality of living, with football as your priority and future career, then do it if you love it. Don’t let other people be the determining factor as to why you chose to stop. Yes, there will be judgments, you can choose to listen to them or not, but you have one life. Own that fact and live with the choices that you make.

This is why it is so important to have a phenomenal supporting cast that is in your corner. Whether it is your family, friends, partner, even the people you choose to follow online. Who are the people that you are listening to? Who are the people that are in a position that you want to be in? Creating an environment that is filled with encouragement, positivity, support, inspiration, drive, and belief. These are some of the attributes you should be looking for in people that want the best for you, those that show appreciation in your efforts to pursue your goals, individuals who have the sympathy to pick you up when you are down, not kick you farther into the hole. These are the type of people who are helping you on the way to reaching your goals.

If you were to take anything away from this particular blog entry, it would be this. If you want to see more progression in your pursuit of an ideal life or career, put aside the judgments and notions from the people who are questioning the, “what if’s” of your decisions, start working proactively and deliberately in creating a circle of people who drive you to be the greatest form of yourself.

Author: Zaya Mardika

Editor: Michelle Vinita

Editor: Mitchell Hines