Silencing the Peanut Gallery

We’re in the second week of my blog series on the 5 Keys to Making Your Goals a Reality. It’s one of my favourite topics that I actually dedicate an entire talk to. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, when I talk about the peanut gallery, I’m talking about a group that includes:

• Well-meaning friends and family
• The media
• Social media
• The voice in your head

These 4 groups can, if you let them, talk you out of pursuing your goals. Your friends and family might not get it. Some will tell you to be more realistic, to stop dreaming and get real. They have concerns about how you’ll make it work and whether or not you’ll succeed. You have to remember it’s your goal, your risk to take. If it’s important to you, don’t let anyone talk you out of going after what you want in life!

The media doesn’t seem to be in the business of sharing happy news. It always seems to be doom in gloom, with a sprinkling of feel-good. If you listen to the stats on unemployment rates, economic decline and the failure rates for new businesses, you may begin to think “what’s the point?” I love what Louise Hay says in her You Can Heal Your Life CD: “just because it may be true for some, it doesn’t mean it has to be true for you.” If you don’t want to be another statistic, find a way to make it work for you.

Social media’s included in this because never before has it been so easy to judge complete strangers for their actions as it is today. I’ve seen celebrities get blasted on social media for sharing good news! We definitely cannot let the opinions of complete strangers discourage us from pursuing our goals. One of my favourite Wayne Dyer quotes is “what other people think of me is none of my business.” Whether we like it or not, we have no control over the thoughts and feelings of another person.

The one person whose thoughts and feelings you do have control of, is yourself. So you’re in charge of silencing the self-doubt that creeps into your head as you decide to go after your goal. If you don’t believe in yourself, how is anyone else supposed to? Do whatever it is you need to do to maintain a positive mindset. When you’re strong in your conviction to pursue your goal, nothing the peanut gallery does or says can take you off track.

How do we silence the peanut gallery? You have to neutralize its power:

• Only share your goals with positive people who will support and encourage you
• Minimize your exposure to the news, stay informed, but don’t make the media determine your reality
• Don’t take anything said on social media personally. It’s easy to say whatever you want behind the safety of a computer screen without thinking about the consequences. Don’t give your power away
• Don’t let the voice in your head that says I can’t be stronger than the one that says I can. They both are right, the choice is yours!

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post. I’ll be talking about the third key to making your goals a reality, having faith! ♥