3 Points to Ponder
- “My Haitian friends have a saying when it comes to criticism, ‘You only throw rocks at trees with lots of mangoes.’ What is your mechanism for coping with the rocks thrown at you when your actions are bearing fruit?”
- “There is a teeter-totter between hope and fear. All hope and it is reckless. All fear and it is overwhelming. The balance between these two is the dance of the dreamer, the one who is dutifully taking the next step in pursuit of their calling.”
- “In pursuit of a dream, most of us believe that if it is not achieved, it would be because of some outward force. That isn’t true. Most of the time, it is ourselves that cause our own derailment in our pursuit. We have not taken the time to develop the inner strength along the way to hold the dream when it is accomplished. What are you doing today to help you hold your dream when you reach it?”
2 Quotes to Share
“Do not let arrogance go to your head and despair to your heart; do not let compliments go to your head and criticisms to your heart; do not let success go to your head and failure to your heart.” -Roy T. Bennett
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
1 Story of Impact
In our First 1,000 Days program, there are some beliefs we hold tight for each of our families. Every child deserves to be fed. Every caregiver deserves to be able to provide for their family. We will hold the beliefs of what is possible for each family until that family can hold these beliefs for themselves. Because we challenge what is possible for every family, at times we get push back from the parents who want us to just do it for them. The easy option is to just feed them forever, never asking them to participate in their own outcomes. This is where the dance of the dream is most important, as the pendulum swings quickly from hope to fear. Once fear grips the dream, it is very difficult to move forward. During these times of great criticism, many of our caregivers are being gripped by fear, believing it isn’t possible for them to take care of their family without help. It is our responsibility to help them release the fear inside of them and lean more into hope, with a healthy balance between the two. It is possible, as we’ve seen evidence in the power of this dance. Where is your teeter-totter in this balance between hope and fear? What can you do today to be in a healthier place?
