Quote: “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
Martin Luther King said, “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
Nothing is more deafening than silence when people turn an apathetic eye towards humanity. But you and I can make a difference in our world. Your actions count! Today let’s make a decision to help someone we know, someone trapped by tragedy, poverty or hopelessness without life.
APATHY is THE SUCCESS NEUTRALIZER, the inhibitor of dreams, the limiter of realization, and the thief of progress or life.
Apathy comes for many reasons – an expectation of failure, insensitivity to injustice, and a sense of helplessness. Where apathy exists we find low expectation because initiative is lost, inhibiting our relationships and our opportunity in life.
Ask yourself some simple questions: Where have I set the standard for my life? Is failure my expectation, or is overcoming the impossible where I set my goal in life?
Did you know that apathy has a song made famous by the American singer Doris Day? “Que Sera, Sera… whatever will be, will be…” You can kill motivation by surrendering your emotions, your will, and your expectation to a fatalistic philosophy of whatever, whenever, or whoever.
The Psalmist said, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God…”
Scripture: Psalm 42:11
At 11 years old, Kevin McNulty imagined himself playing on the tennis courts of WIMBLEDON. His dream sustained him through physical impairments, poverty and an environment where no one believed in him. All the ODDS were AGAINST HIM! Eventually Kevin won several university scholarships, became a junior’s tennis champion, captain of the university’s tennis team, and was recently recognized as one of the top 25 players in the 100 year history of the Michigan State University tennis program! Although he never played Wimbledon, HIS DREAM allowed him to soar to heights that no one believed he could reach!
Imagination is unique to humanity…to every individual who dares to dream!
Dare to Dream! Dare to soar with your imagination!
Quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein
How do you and I overcome apathy? First we have to understand it! What is apathy?
They observe but do not act.
They know but they do not care.
They hear but they do not respond.
They think of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are YOU a part of the collective ‘THEY?’ Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings”.
How many destinies can be changed when you and I emerge from apathy to action? Consider it: wherever you are today, you and I have power to initiate change! It does not matter your sex, age, or culture!
Just as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope and expectation! Why wait? Let’s do it now!
There are qualities in humans that override every obstacle faced in this earth. The key to overcoming is not perfection but perseverance.
Recently, I was profoundly impacted as I watched a video of the famous swimmer, Michael Phelps, in his quest for the new Olympic gold record. During the 7th race he was behind the Croatian swimmer the entire time, but a photo finish moment would determine his destiny. With 6 inches left to go, his opponent lifted his head and reached out for the wall. But Phelps kept his head down, allowing for one more stroke. Stretching his right hand out, he touched the wall 1\100 of a second before the hand of his opponent, and history was made. One extra stroke and that little extra stretch was the difference between victory and defeat!
Paul had this attitude as He reached for his best life. He said:
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me… I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which area head, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
