The article below was sent to me by Theodore Sugges as an email response to my message Propelled by Prejudice. I found it fascinating enough to post as a part 2 – With Theodore’s permission of course. The article understands and augments my points. Prejudice takes many forms and yes, Racial bigotry is included.
I read your message today with interest. In many ways people have discouraged me with proclamations that I wasn’t good enough or would never amount to anything. In the end I proved all or most of them wrong. Prejudice in my country is a very strong word usually applied on the basis of racial lines, so when that word is used it usually means racial bigotry. I trust that is not the case in the examples you described here.
Regardless of whether it’s a job, a scholarship or any other kind of decision that people make against you, EVERYTHING depends upon what you do with that rejection. Do you give up? Let the setback defeat you? Let the other person win? Or do you carry on with your eye on the prize? It’s your choice, and your success in life depends upon your decisions – not the person who is against you at any given moment.
There will always be people who don’t like you for whatever reason – your hair, skin, or eye color, whether you’re good looking or ugly, your tribe, or where you’re from or maybe no reason they can name – they just don’t like you. And no matter what you do, you will not please them. Isn’t that THEIR problem? If you use THEIR problem to stimulate your courage to do what it takes to accomplish your goals, aren’t they a blessing in disguise? Would your father have gone into business for himself if his boss had given him that promotion? Would you and I be who we are today if the people who disliked us and gave us problems did the opposite? Probably not.
So those people who hurt us along the way were blessings in disguise. Perhaps we should be grateful for them. They were the catalysts that pushed us forward! Without them, who knows where we would be! The purpose of your writing today, I’m sure, was to offer hope and encouragement to others that their success doesn’t depend upon what enemies think. It depends upon your faith in a fair God who loves you and your courage to to do what you were meant to do through your own efforts with the help of God. Thank you for this gift – reminding me of my reasons, beyond the usual, to forgive!
