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My life's challenges vs Randy Pausch's life


Life is definitely challenging. You don't need me to tell you that, but somehow it just feels satisfying to say that. I do feel that I have been intimidated by challenges in my life. This is something that gives me deep regret for things that I have not done in my past which may have been able to help me out in regards to finding my way toward a career. See, I am a bit of a slow learner. I'm not sure why that is the case. When given enough time I am able to comprehend a lot of things that many people find unimportant or uninteresting. For example I am very good at remember dates, numbers, and peoples' email addresses. How has this helped me? Not really tremendously well. I really dislike sounding negative, but unfortunately this is the though process that has guided most of my child and adult life, the thought: Well, I just am not capable of doing that, or I am just not as smart as most people. And it's not like I haven't had some great mentors over the years who have tried to help give me some direction for how to find my calling in life. Its just that the things these mentors were showing me at the time, held little of my interest. I am however, grateful to these people (friends and family members) who have taken the time to assist me in thinking more positively. 

To be honest Professor Pausch's speech made me feel guilty. It made me feel guilty because it has occurred to me that I really haven't accomplished any of my life's dreams because to be completely frank, I am trying to figure out what exactly those dreams are! Randy Pausch was incredibly successful because he was a dreamer. He did math problems on his bedroom wall because he was smart and not afraid to aim high. He also didn't care what barriers lay in his way. He knew that that was just part of life. That is probably the biggest takeaway for me from his speech. He explained that barriers to success are there to keep the people away who do not deserve them, and to prove to those who truly want it that they can have their success if they try hard enough. Going back to the word mentor, I have discovered that my greatest mentor is my wife. She always builds me up, encourages me to achieve the goals I have set for myself. And she also chides me when I'm speaking negatively about myself. I feel like that is my biggest challenge in life: overcoming helplessness and negativity. 

I want to be more like Randy Pausch, in that I am to not be afraid of a good challenge. Challenges can be distressful, intimidating, and depressing. I feel that one of the greatest things I can do in my life in recognize my strengths, built upon them, and learn to try new things. I have a comfort zone in which I have been huddled in for years and perhaps at this point in my life, since I'm studying at BYU-I, should take this opportunity to grab my educational skills by the horns and creating solid achievable goals for myself. So here's to a new week of not beating up on myself and recognizing the gifts and abilities that I do possess. 

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