The Negatives seem
too often to be in the Majority
Many of the best “How to be Successful” books will tell you
that in order to move forward and be a success one needs to surround one’s self
with either successful people, or, most certainly, positive people. Yet so
often the majority seem to fit the “negative” criteria.
I note from the story of Israel in the Bible, that when they
arrived at the land that God had promised them, they sent in twelve spies and -
true to form - the majority, ten, to be exact, said we can never do that! We
cannot win there! We look like grasshoppers, and they look like Giants! Only two of the spies said “It’s great. God
is with us. We can take the land.”
The thing is that my experience of life shows me that for
most people it seems that it is easier to be negative rather than
positive. So many times in my experience
I have been told, “You cannot do that.” “You won’t get there.” “You are
finished.” One has to learn to stop one’s
ears sometimes, before they get the chance to say, “You cannot…”, or move out
of the immediate zone before the cold water carriers pour it on your internal fire.
The truth is that sometimes one cannot do it simply because
the majority are so negative. So, Moses never did get to the land - because he
needed the others to come with him, and they were too negative to do so.
I have been in situations where I know it was
achievable, workable and doable and would have been great to be done and help
others. But, the “ten” outweighed the “two,” so I lost out also.
It’s sad also when people do it to others. They are no good, they cannot do it, and they
poor scorn on other human beings. Often they pull down others who are actually
doing what they are not and doing it well.
I still remember a deputy head teacher calling me to his
office one day. It was the days when people in that position sat in high and
lofty desks and looked down on the students as if they were minnows. He looked
at me and said, “Hawkes! You are so stupid, you will never be able to do
anything in life. I can’t even think you
could be good enough to sweep the streets.”
Maybe that is why, when people ask me, “How do you get to be a leader?”
my answer is always, “How well can you sweep up?
If you can do that job well,
there is every hope in your other abilities, and the character to lead!”
I was very bad to that teacher. After I had left school, I
took my new car - part of my successful job - and drove past the school as he peddled
out on his rusty old bike. I pulled over and asked him with a smile, “Are you
really still riding that old bike sir?”
I guess that was not a good example to others, but I would be lying if I
didn’t admit it was fun.
The other side to this “negative” discussion is often the
mountain or the journey of achievement itself. “It’s just too big!” I get lots
of knocks on my FB page and other writings as people tell me we should not be
taking in Refugees. Many look at the
problem, and, “Yes! There are around 60 Million displaced people in the world
at the moment.” And: “No!” I did not make a mistake on the number. Many
sarcastically say to me, “Where are you going to put all those millions of people
in the UK?”
My oft reply is to refer them to the story made plain in the
following web site: https://eventsforchange.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/the-starfish-story-one-step-towards-changing-the-world/ Have a look at it.
Even so, I do have answers for the bigger group, that is,
the majority that are the “neggo’s”. But then I need more than the two out of
the ten to see it also and come with me to take the positive action. I could climb the mountain, or enter the
land, but others need to see it too.
That is the problem with vision. What is obvious to the positive mind, is
just negative fun to those who are of the negative mind.
As the Chinese proverb goes, “The longest journey has to
start with the first step.” If we are
not willing to get out of our easy chair. If we are just happy seeing only the
negative. If we are always of the “half empty” rather than “half full” people.
If we are always only able to see the problems and never see the problem as a
“stepping stone” to success, then we will never see the view from the top of
the Mountain.
I am a follower of Jesus, and he said to his followers, that
if they believed, they would be able not only to see the view from the top of
the mountain, but they would be actually empowered to say to the mountain, “Be
removed and be cast into the sea.”
Personally, I would rather believe and see the success, than
listen to the negativity of others. Or rather, I would prefer to have you join me
in being positive, seeing what could be, taking steps, believing in a vision,
and climbing mountains, or moving them out of the way, whichever
is most appropriate.
Adrian Hawkes
W. 931
Edited by K Lannon
