Why is it so easy for people to give up on things now a days. I really don't get it. Two people that I love are care deeply about just decided to give up. As a matter of fact they both quit trying a long time ago. Why? Why is it that people work so hard to establish themselves at their place of employment, but think it's alright to not work as hard at home? When you are in school and you desperately need that grade, you work hard to earn it. When you are saving up for something special you make sacrifices in your daily lives to be able to afford it. Why are those sacrifices not made in a marriage?
Now that these two have decided to give up where does that leave their child? Did they just show their child that things are not worth working hard for? When their child grows up and gets married, if things don't go their way, will it be OK to walk away instead of working hard to make it work? It's just my opinion, but I believe they showed that child that a B is just as good as an A even when the child is totally capable of earning that A.
I started looking a round on the internet and found some people who believed that giving up wasn't an option and maybe, just maybe someone reading this will decide that giving up isn't an option for them either.
For instance, what if Anne Sullivan had given up on Helen Keller?
Or how would our childhood be without Dr. Suess? Did you know he was rejected by over 20 publishers?
Margaret Mitchell was rejected by 38 publishers. I guess thats why Gone with the Wind was her only book.
And what would the 80's have been without Dirty Dancing? The screenplay was rejected 43 times. Vestron finally agreed to do it with a budget of only 4.5 million. It grossed 3.9 million opening weekend, which was a lot back in 1987.
My children's favorite, The Princess Bride, author William Goldman shopped the story around for 15 years. Luckily he was able to team with the legendary Rob Reiner to get the movie produced.
Did you know Walt Disney's first animation company went bankrupt or that Vincent Van Gogh, even though his painted over 800 pieces, only sold one painting in his lifetime and that was to a close friend?
How about the Beatles. They were told they had no future because guitar groups were on the way out. And Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Did you know that Albert Einstein could talk until he was four and didn't read until he was seven? His parents were told that he was mentally handicapped.
Poverty stricken J.K. Rowling's book, Harry Potter, was rejected by 12 publishers. Ms. Rowling is now the 12th richest woman in the United Kingdom due to the success of the Harry Potter series and subsequent movies.
How about Harland Sanders who had to drop out of school at 12 to cook and take care of his family after his father died. At the age of 65 and after being turned down by over 1000 restaurants for his recipe, Colonel Sanders decided to open up his own store. I'm so glad he didn't give up because I love me some KFC.
And then there's the story about a man who took up carpentry because, after years of uncredited roles in Hollywood, he had to find a way to support his wife and two young sons. He built sets for movies and worked as a stagehand for the Doors. Luckily, since this man had a great reputation as a carpenter and George Lucas needed some cabinets built for his new office, this man was hired. George Lucas like him so much that he gave him a supporting role in his upcoming movie American Graffiti. Still unable to find work as an actor, the carpenter was then hired by Francis Ford Coppola to expand his home office and Coppola also gave him some small roles in his films. Finally, in 1975, he was able to read for a role in another George Lucas film, Star Wars. Harrison Ford was about to give it all up and walk away from Hollywood because he felt that his carpentry skills would suffice to support his family, but luckily, he didn't. Kinda reminds me of another carpenter who would never give up on me.
I guess I feel sorry for those who give up so easily. They will never know what could have been. And I do realize that there are people all over the world that have had to give up on their dreams. But when most do, they have worked really hard at making a go of it. These two people, that I love so much, really didn't. They could have had it all, but I guess for some people all isn't good enough. Some people want more when sometimes more can add up to nothing.
The romantic ideal of marriage is difficult to sustain for a lifetime. In marriage, people need to be willing to give a bit on their own personal goals, to focus perhaps on their partners goals instead of thinking, it's all about me. Marriages need to be entered into with the idea that divorce is not an option. Giving 50/50 shouldn't be an option either. Going into a marriage expecting both of you to do your share will never work. Sometimes it has to be 80/20 or 30/70 or what ever the needs are that day, but every day, looking at you partners needs, not just your own. And why be so critical? Criticism feels like rejection. Didn't your mama ever tell you that if you don't have anything nice to say, to keep your mouth shut? I don't always agree with everything my spouse says, sometimes I think he is sooo wrong, but I do respect him. We can disagree, but we never criticize.
Hard work, determination, definitive goals, longevity, these are all words that I believe are the opposite of giving up. They sound so much better than give up words like abandon, bail out, surrender, resign, throw in the towel.
Wake up people, it's not rocket science. Oh no, it's harder than that, but the rewards soar higher. Stop giving up so easy. Life is a commitment all on it's own and you wouldn't give up on that when the going gets rough. So quit giving up on marriage America. We can do better that this.
No comments:
Post a Comment