- Steve Berlack
Noise
This is for anyone who’s ever made a decision, and then heard nothing
but noise.
I am here to tell you that if you ever stand firm in your convictions, if you
ever make a decision based on your morals, standards and faith, then noise
is exactly what you’ll hear.
The bad part is that you’ll hear the most noise from the people closest to
you. They will have advice about every aspect of your decision. They’ll tell
you what you should do/should have done/couldn’t do/can’t do/shouldn’t
think about....
They’ll ask you: how could you?/why did you?/how dare you?/why didn’t
you?/why wouldn’t you?/shouldn’t you have...?
And then they’ll tell you: well I can’t/I don’t see how/that doesn’t make
sense/I don’t understand/I’m not going to support that....
Noise. All of it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The people close to you whispering in your ear
may have nothing but good intentions for you. And they may not. Those
closest to you know your strengths and your weaknesses. They know what
to whisper in your ear, depending on what they want from you.
So my advice is: make your decisions based on your faith and self-awareness,
then step back. Stop. Listen. Absorb what makes sense to you. And then
completely and wholeheartedly discard the rest for what it is: noise. Let it
go, and stand firm in your convictions. Th is is important because if you’re
not careful, listening to the noise can make you forget who you really are.
At best, the people feeding you noise meant no harm. At worst, the point
of all that noise was for you to forget who you are, or more precisely, for
you to become what they perceive you to be.
Remember: people either see you or they don’t. If they can see you, I
mean really see you, then honor them and heed what they say, even if you
ultimately don’t agree with or implement their suggestions.
But if they stand close to you, yet still can’t see who you are, then how is it
possible for them to ever give you anything other than noise camouflaged
as “good advice?”
Tune in to who you are, buttress yourself with faith, and tune out the noise.
Your purpose awaits you.