Why Do Some People Find Their Path in Life Early and Are Successful? But Some Find Their Path Late, and Some Don’t Find It at All?
I’m on the right path, but it took me long enough
I sat dejected at the dining table as my parents told me they wanted me to apply for a security guard job. I did what they told me to do. The fighting made me tired, and I didn’t have any ideas about what to do next. I worked as a security guard for twenty years.
I was never able to move out of my parent’s home. My living arrangement stunted my maturity and growth. Everything I tried to learn a trade or to keep a decent job failed. I watched with pride and amazement as my younger brothers had no problems at all.
They found their paths young and were able to get out on their own a long time before I did. I’m convinced that my failure had little to do with Learning Disabilities. The Doctors diagnosed me with Dyslexia when I was ten. The Doctors told my parents I was “Brain Damaged” when I was a lot younger.
If I had learned what I know now about self-talk and framing when I was younger. I could have had the tools to defeat the programming. I had trouble when I was young believing I was good for anything.
I compensated by being the clown. I developed a sense of humor and an active imagination. The tools to be a good writer were there. I didn’t see them and I wouldn’t have known how to use them if I did see them.
It’s on my mind a lot. I try to understand where I went wrong. if I could have righted the ship of failure earlier. I understand now where I screwed up. My parents loved me and wanted the best for me.
Was it right for them to obsess over my Dyslexia and “Brain Damage?” What if there was less enabling language and more encouragement? There are Dyslexic and Nero-divergent people successful in all walks of life. Where did I go wrong?
It’s not only the Dyslexics and Nero-divergent. A lot of people fail to launch into the lives they were meant to find. It fascinates me. Some people find and develop their gifts young. One of my younger brothers is like that.
He graduated from high school early and earned two Bachelor’s Degrees. He and his family have traveled the world and are multi-lingual. He has that life because he found his path early. It hasn’t all been perfect, but he has had a good life.
I would beat myself up. I would hold my brothers up as a standard I had to follow. It damned near drove me insane. Last month I turned sixty-four years old. I’m happier and more content than I have ever been in my life.
It took years, but I found out I could write. I always wanted to be creative, but I didn’t think I could do it. The dream of being a writer lay suppressed in my brain. Popping up now and then, but always tamped down because I wasn’t worthy.
I quit believing the lies. I talk to myself in different ways. I’m having success on Medium and I have a growing YouTube channel. The sad thing is that none of it would have happened while my parents were alive.
You might be where I was at. It doesn’t matter how old you are or if you have a Disability. It’s never too late to find your path. We all are good at something, in spite of what our families or teachers tell us.
I have said it before and I’ll keep saying it. Find your path. You have something deep inside of you that sings to your soul. You’re family and your psyche is fighting it. Fight back with everything you have.
Don’t be one of those people who die unhappy because they didn’t try. It’s never too late as long as you’re healthy and breathing. The first steps are hard, but it gets easier. Take the first step and keep moving.
It’s too late to start when you’re dead. If you’re breathing you need to get busy. You will not regret it.
