Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently"

That is one of my favorite quotes. I love the message it sends. It often reminds me of the gospel song "We Fall Down". "We fall down, but we get up"; those words mean so much to me. Because the only person who can stop you is you. Sure other people will place obstacles in your way, but it is up to you to get over, under, or around those obstacles. If you truly want something, you won't let anyone stop you from getting it, whether it's true love, a job you love, or providing for your family. If you believe in God and put your faith first and trust in your self, you will overcome any obstacle. It may not be today or tomorrow or even next week, but you will eventually overcome the obstacle. We often want to give up when things get hard. I know I feel like it at times, but then I have to ask myself if I am really willing to allow someone else to control me, prevent men from getting what I deserve. Many people can't handle rejection or criticism, I used to be like that mainly because I never experienced real rejection until a couple of years back and I didn't know how to handle it. I often times would find my self crying and asking God why he was allowing these things to happen to me. I viewed myself as a good person and couldn't understand why I had to go through so much pain; but you can't have happiness without some pain. I still don't like being rejected but I know my capabilities and I know that the person who rejected me just missed out on something great. Why should I beat myself up and hate myself and the world just because some people don't necessarily believe in me. As long as I believe in me and in God, I know I'll be alright.

I'm not trying to be preachy, but it just seems as if we too often allow other people's opinions define who we are, when these people don't truly know us to begin with. Everyone struggles at some point in their lives, we all get down in the dumps and dislike the hand that was dealt us; but should we allow this to stop us from playing that bad hand to best of out ability and maybe bluffing our way into winning? Only we can stop ourselves permanently, only we have the power to convince ourselves that we are good enough or vice-versa. The more stock with put into the opinions of others, the less stock we put into out opinions of ourselves. Every parent owes it to his/her child to show them that they can overcome obstacles and can make it. Sure you may not get everything you want, most people don't; but you can achieve real happiness if you allow yourself to love yourself enough to never give up and to stand up for what you believe. And remember everything looks better when you are on the outside looking in. Don't allow yourself or your children to lose faith, it is the cornerstone to getting back up when you've been knocked down. Only you know how good or bad you really are, so don't allow anyone else to define you. Because "others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently," always remember that!!!!!!!!