Go After What You Want. Don’t Wait for It to be Handed to You.

Posted on by Ipuna Black

This world owes us nothing. It really doesn’t. We have to earn everything. Most of my kids play sports. When my children used to play more at the recreational level, they would get a trophy at the end of each season just for showing up. Honestly, I didn’t like this much. Playing devil’s advocate, I can see how getting a trophy at the end of the season feels like an accomplishment. The child finished the season. The issue that I had with it was that the kids expected it no matter what. The parents pay the money (not the child of course), and the child gets a trophy. This doesn’t seem like a big deal and it really isn’t, but it can be a bigger deal on a larger scale.

College Level

I’ve noticed that some of the students at the college level have changed compared to years ago. I had a master’s degree student who was completing her clinical hours shadowing me one day. She was talking to a male student nurse. She asked him a question about a medication. He told her, “That’s what I pay you for. To give me the answer.”

What??? I think if my head could’ve twirled around on my neck, it would’ve. I was shocked at this response.

Just because you pay for college doesn’t mean you will be handed a degree. Sorry. It doesn’t work that way. You have to work for each letter grade and each credit toward that precious piece of paper called a degree. (And PS, you will have to work even harder after you graduate to make things happen for yourself.)

Student of the Month

My nine-year-old son, Jy, said to me last week, “I told Mrs. S that I’m going to be good and work hard all week next week so that I can get Student of the Month.”

(PS Jy, You should be good and work hard all the time says your mama!)

Mrs. S told him that if he worked hard and was good all week, he would get Student of the Month.

I love the initiative Jy took. He told the teacher exactly what he wanted AND what HE was going to do to EARN it. He didn’t say, “Mrs. S, why don’t you GIVE me Student of the Month?”

You want something? Be bold and find a way to earn it.

Go After What You Want. Don’t Wait for It to be Handed to You.

Now, it’s your turn. What is it that you really want right now? Our wants always change, so don’t think too far ahead. Think about what you really want right now. List 3-5 steps you can take to get it. I like listing steps because I can check them off as I complete them. Checking each step off will get me one step closer to my goal(s) or what I want.

Go work on those steps. Nothing will be handed to you (like that trophy at the end of a sports season- nope those good ol’ days are over), but you can EARN whatever you choose to work hard for. 💪

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65 thoughts on “Go After What You Want. Don’t Wait for It to be Handed to You.”

  2. Great post, Sunshine. And Jy, MAMA’s right. It should be something you do all the time. However, I’m glad you knew what you wanted and set out to get it.
    I’ve made my list and I’m going to get it!!

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    1. Oh good, Alysha. I’m not the only one who does that. Ha ha. We let our kids have them for a little while, and then, we get rid them all. The kids only keep the ones that they earned: championship, player of the game, etc. (We would have a clutter mess too if we kept everything!)

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  5. What I want right now is to graduate as a Life Coach and I am willing to put in the hours and effort to get there 🙂 What I also want is to run a total of 250k this year and I SHOULD make that, if I stop coming down with the cold, heheh.

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    1. Ooh, two great goals! I love it. You will get your Life Coach! I know it. You are determined and have been working so hard. And yeah on the run! I love running (but not so much in races….more for a mental thing). Thanks for filling me in on your goals. I love to hear about your progress. It motivates me to keep pushing forward.

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    1. Yeah! Jy is a sweetie, blessing, and miracle. I learn from him each day. Thank you! ❤️​ He is a determined kid. I was very lucky to be with him every day during his recovery. I’ve never seen him fight so hard to regain his strength. He didn’t like to be told he couldn’t do something (like someone else I know… ha ha).

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    1. Thank you! Jy has been through a lot with his medical recovery. I love his drive to get what he wants. It will get him far in life. I love it when I learn from my kids too. Have a wonderful day as well! ☀️​

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  9. Really really true! Nothing is and should be free, otherwise life will appear to be a joke.
    A lot of my friends just go and get marks entered against their names by pleading to the teacher or by false means. They don’t earn their marks. I keep telling them, earn your degree don’t just buy it. Such a relatable topic!

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  12. How true! We value things so much more when we can remember all the steps we went through to achieve them. I love a goals list to check off as I progress and reminds me what I’m working towards. Jy obviously already has this mindset 🙂

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    2. Thank you! I’m grateful Jy has that mindset at a young age. I have a teen, and it’s hard to teach him goal setting. Each child is different. I just have to find a different approach with him, or he has to want something bad enough.

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      1. Yes, every child is different. Your teen’s makes decisions and choices daily which require some some element of goal setting. He’s probably happy staying in short-term goal setting mode for the time being but will switch up a gear to medium-long term goal setting when he wants something bad enough as you say 🙂 I can imagine you’re a really open & approachable parent so just keep doing what you do & being there for him. You’ll be the one he’ll turn to for advice when he decides it’s time to step up 🙂

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        1. Thank you, Letisha! Yes, he openly speaks with me, thank goodness. I jump on every opportunity to steer him in the right direction. You’re great with advice. You should look into psychology or just keep mingling in the blog world. You can help many!

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  14. Funny little Jy, I wonder if it occurred to him that Student of the Month means working hard throughout the month, not week. How cute. 😆

    Awesome post as always, Ipuna! We need to go after what we want and not wait for it to come; after all, a novel isn’t going to write itself. 😛

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. To funny. I asked him today how it was going, and he said, “I’m trying really hard.” We will see.

      Oh yeah. On that novel thing…. Ha ha. My book is out to a couple of literary agents. Publishing isn’t easy, but I’m hoping for the best.

      Write write write yourself!

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