Do you protect your new goals and projects, your inspirations, and ideas, from outside contamination?

Your new goals, projects, inspirations, and ideas are seedlings. You’ve just planted them in rich fertile soil and watered them.

They are barely sprouting up above the ground.  They are young and fragile, easy to trample and destroy.

Most people don’t have your best interests at heart.  They would sooner see you fail because your success makes them feel bad about themselves.  Even the people you love, the people who are closest to your heart can, consciously or unconsciously, have mixed motives.

If you want to succeed, do not share your goals, projects, inspirations, and ideas, especially before you’ve got them fully grounded and self-sustaining, with anyone but those you absolutely and wholeheartedly trust. 

Again, sometimes we think we can trust our secrets with close family members and friends, when we can’t.  If your gut says ‘no’, listen.  It might not speak loudly, but you will feel a little nagging feeling or slightly uncomfortable.  Your inner knowing doesn’t shout, it whispers. Listen.

Sometimes it’s best to tell no one rather than risk a negative projection or reaction, which can be camouflaged as ‘just looking out for your best interests’ or ‘playing the devil’s advocate’ and can fill you with doubt.  And doubt is poison. It can easily destroy what you’ve started.

Once your seedling takes root and is a sturdy young tree, once your tree is able to weather challenging conditions and is able to not only survive but thrive, then sharing is a different story. Use your common sense and intuition to decide when the time is right.

“You don’t know my family or best friend", people tell me.  Maybe not. But people will try to sabotage your success for all kinds of reasons.  Maybe it makes them feel bad about themselves, shining a bright light on how unhappy or stuck they feel in their lives.  Maybe they are afraid that you will no longer need them, that you will move away or distance yourself once success lights up your life.

So, protect your seedlings from all negative thoughts, projections and influences. Err on the side of caution. Trust your intuition. Be discerning.  Nurture and love your seedlings, knowing and visualizing that they are now magnificent, strong, and sturdy trees.