In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea.
inspiration with Cynthia C Hakutangwi
It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before. Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion, he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge. The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway, a tragic accident on the site took the life of Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk. “We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.” Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Be prepared to face opposition
You will face opposition and resistance at some point when you are trying to accomplish something greater than yourself. Your resistance could be fear, doubt, anxiety, procrastination, self-sabotage, worry, distraction, numbing out, escaping, avoiding, self-criticism, anger, boredom or any other state that gets in the way of you going towards what you really, really want. All goals have obstacles to overcome. We all have things standing in our way. They can often seem insurmountable, but with enough perseverance, we can usually get around them. That means working hard even if you don’t see an end in sight. You will face that moment too while pursuing your goal.
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You’ll stop to look around and see nothing. During such times you will be surrounded with the voices of many around you who will be trying to convince you that what you are trying to achieve has never been done before and cannot be accomplished. That is normal. There will often be nothing to encourage us. There will often be nothing telling us if our hunches are right. The problem is that when we see nothing we might think there really is nothing. We all get afraid that our goals won’t really be there. We all feel like we’re working towards something that will never arrive. You have to have faith that all your work will get you to your destination even if others around you may not see it. It often just takes time and small steps. You have to persevere and see it all the way to the end.
The greatest feelings of accomplishment derive from knowing you’ve overcome obstacles and conquered adversities to achieve your goals. Your ultimate success will be exponentially more satisfying and fulfilling when you know what it took to get there. I know how exhausting it is to battle with these obstacles again and again and how bad we feel about ourselves when we can’t seem to get past them. So press through opposition with perseverance and determination towards your significant goals today.
Cynthia Hakutangwi is a communications and personal development consultant, life coach, author and strategist. Wholeness Incorporated Coaching offers you strategies you can implement today to become a critical thinker and problem solver. E-mail: [email protected]. Facebook: Wholeness Incorporated.
