(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Julie Jacobson)
Last week the eyes of the world were transfixed by the gifts and talents displayed in the Olympics, including yours truly. All sports were so amazingly exciting to watch. And, of course, Gabby Douglas won the hearts of thousands, perhaps millions, known now as America’s sweetheart. Gabrielle Christina Victoria "Gabby" Douglas won gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competitions. Gabby is the first African-American and first woman of color in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.
The results of six years of training away from her family have paid-off tremendously.
Yet while on any road to realizing your dream, there are sure to be bumps, bangs and blows along the way. It just goes with the game. Amazed by the motivation and inspiration of Gabby’s mother, Natalie Hawkins, there are directions we can take away and develop while sprinting on the pathway to realizing our dreams. I want to share with you four of many directions we can garner from Ms. Hawkins.
Dream Beyond Your Means. Don’t limit your dream by your natural resources, time, talent, income or education. God can do much more—exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask, imagine or think. When you downsize your dreams to fit within your small means, you do a disservice to your big King! God created you to dream and live big. Dream outside of where you are comfortable. Stretch your imagination and hold those thoughts. It is reported that Ms. Hawkins sold personal items to finance her daughter’s dream. She allowed Gabby to travel to Iowa to train those six years not knowing how she would pay for it. Don’t calculate your future according to your paycheck.
Become Decisive and Let Go. Prolonged indecisiveness is a vision-killer, and it also drains the joy out of life. You may need to make some decisions about your associations in order to go to the next level. Don’t allow your past to cause you to forfeit your future. Once a dream is birthed in your heart, you must take responsibility for the dream and put forth purposeful effort for it to come to pass. Let go of personal struggles and focus on purposeful pursuits. Ms. Hawkins didn’t allow being abandoned by her former husband and a recent bankruptcy to hold her back from supporting Gabby in pursuit of her dream. She let go of them and decided to keep a positive frame of her daughter’s future. Time is the substance of life and so precious that you cannot afford to waste it on distractions of superficial relationships, shallow commitments or superfluous activities.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Unknown. You’ll never rise higher than the action you take on a daily basis. When you pull back from the unknown, you can miss out on a valuable opportunity to push forward toward your dream. Step out in faith because dream achievement undoubtedly requires doing what you’ve never done before. This is how you grow. Action is what brings about progress. Action is what gives you a sense of fulfillment. Action is what moves you from where you are to where you want to be. If Ms. Hawkins had allowed the unknown to halt her decision of releasing Gabby to strangers twelve hundred miles away six years ago, both their dreams of Gabby performing in the Olympics may never had been realized. Here’s what Ms. Hawkins had to say on this, “Letting go of Gabrielle was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life but it’s now one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever gotten to experience … there’s no greater joy than for a parent to see their child reach their dream.”
Ignore the Critics. When you begin making progress towards your dream, your enemies will suddenly come alive. Critics are designed by satan to rob you of self-esteem and confidence. Stay committed to what God birthed in your heart to do. Look only to God’s Word and the vision he placed in your heart to know what you can accomplish. Sixteen year old Gabrielle Douglas made history in this year’s Olympics and the critics couldn’t see past certain superficial qualities. Thankfully Ms. Hawkins and Gabby have been able to find humor in all the hoopla surrounding non issues. The two have laughed about the silly irrelevant banter and made it into a huge joke.
Know that God’s principles and purposes have determined what you’re going to be and do rather than your own fears, distractions, set-backs or others’ opinions. Take these directives from Ms. Hawkins to heart. Be set on your dream and vision just as Jesus was set on His all the way to the cross.
Finish strong.
Please let me know if this article has motivated you by leaving a comment or emailing me at dmurphy@eewmagazine.com.