My perspective on a recent Instagram post on Will Smith’s official account.
The video opens with Smith looking out to sea. His monologue plays over the video, conveying an inspirational message to his followers. There are cuts to shots of other people of various ages and ethnicities with each word that Smith says. Finally, it cuts back to him as a close-up shot and then to a shot of the sea gently bobbing up and down.
Will Smith is a pretty influential celebrity, being an essential part of western pop-culture during 1990s and early 2000s, in no small part due to his work on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I personally don’t keep up much with his current projects, but I do follow his Instagram account.
As a good number of millennials do, I started my week with a quick visit to Instagram and lo and behold, a new video from Smith’s account, talking about where he is in his life and how it was down to his attitude. At least that was my interpretation. Below is a transcript of what was said in the video:
“Everything in my life, good or bad, right or wrong, pleasant or unpleasant, wanted or unwanted, is what it is because of me. My thoughts, my emotions, and my beliefs have created my life. Any lack in my life is a result of a lack in me”. – Will Smith, 2019
Maybe it’s because of my previous experiences with personal development and self-belief exercises, but I found this piece to be quite inspiring. Through watching this video, I found a way to accept that I am in my current position because of my lack of focus and inconsistent effort towards achieving my goals. Other influencers shared the same sentiment I had for the video with comments such as:
“This is awesome” – @bradleymartyn
“Only a few will understand this – some of these comments show that many don’t – ” – @mikeymuzik
“I definitely recently accepted this about my life!” – @tutweezy_
But despite the positivity expressed by influencers in the comments, there were people who were not as impressed. Some Instagram users decided to be incredibly vocal about Smith’s video, saying he was wrong and doesn’t understand the lives of those who are starving in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs). A few accused Smith of victim-blaming and refusing to understand that some people were born at a disadvantage that was out of their control.
These types of circumstances certainly do have an effect on your starting point and may, unfortunately, indicate lower points in your life. But in the end, they do not define you. You define you.
The point of the video wasn’t to blame people for the negative things they have experienced, or for the terrible actions of others that they were exposed to and then link those events to their shortcomings. It was to encourage people to change the one thing that they can, no matter what their lives are like – their mindset.
You should never dismiss your dreams due to your situation, you can make a conscious effort to achieve them. Even if you never make it there, in the end, you would be doing a lot better than a vast amount of people who never even try. How you react to every situation determines your future. Am I wrong in saying that? Let me give you a basic example that reflects my personal experience.
Scenario 1: Job search – Apply – Interview – Rejection – Depressive episode – No further progress for a short period (approx. 2 weeks).
Scenario 2: Job search – Apply – Interview – Rejection – Acceptance – Move on to the next application ASAP.
The main difference between the two scenarios outlined above is the attitude towards the situation. Taking rejection on the chin and picking yourself back up is a much more effective approach of getting where you need to be, compared to letting it take you down and steal precious time away from you. This isn’t an easy practice to adopt, especially for those with a predisposition to low-mood and depression, but this is how you change your situation. Everyone is born into circumstances that are beyond their control, but how they utilise themselves and make the most of what they have is what defines them.
Take me as an example; I am unemployed at the moment and looking for my first permanent job after finishing university. I have been through ups and downs, lost confidence in myself and gotten downtrodden from rejections or just not getting any responses. I don’t have a lot of money. Each month, I have a deficit of at least £200 and I am always at my overdraft limit. A few months ago, after getting a rejection for a job I really wanted and tried my hardest for during the assessment centre, I decided I’d had enough. I bought a domain name and started planning out my website. Something awakened in me and I refused to let this one thing get me down and stop me from achieving my dreams.
I have wanted to become an online content creator for a number of years and I finally decided to take the steps to do so. I knew I didn’t have enough money. I knew it was going to be a difficult journey to start and I knew I wouldn’t get an immediate return from it, but I still did it anyway. I was sick of waiting for someone else to accept me, so I accepted myself and my dreams, and made the first step towards making them a reality.
Now, this doesn’t mean I have given up on job-searching because I still need to gain a steady income to live comfortably. But now I have an outlet for my creative tendencies, which is important when considering I might end up in a role where creativity isn’t necessary. I decided to make something positive out of a negative situation. Granted, my situation may be different from yours, but I guarantee you, there is a way to take a step towards your goals.
I understand that I am speaking from a place of privilege, as I didn’t grow up in poverty, without access to clean water, food or shelter. I haven’t been placed in a situation of extreme danger with little chance of change. This article isn’t aimed at those people. This article is for those who are living in a westernised country or in a position of privilege who cannot seem to see the possibilities that are available to them. For those who have let other people’s actions and opinions affect them so much, that they can no longer dream or look past the negatives. For those whose self-esteem has been beaten into the ground. For those who have lost all hope in the world, and themselves.
Make your dreams a reality!
If you want to draw but have no supplies, use old household items like make-up or shoe polish to create your masterpieces.
If you want to learn something new but cannot afford to go to school for it, find a way to learn it using the internet or by going to your local library. If you are fortunate to have these resources, the sky is the limit.
If you want to start a business but have no capital, develop your plan of action for when you do, because your luck could change in the blink of an eye.
If you want to do something that you think you will be ridiculed for by your peers, do it anyway because you are expressing yourself, for yourself. If you are not breaking the law or hurting others, have at it! You’re not a mind-reader, you can’t possibly know what everybody thinks. The outcome may be more positive than you expect.
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