Those naysayers

I have become pretty good pals with Amy Lam, the 55-year old 'havoc granny' who's the first Singaporean to complete the 3,500km Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States. She sends me little encouraging notes every now and then.

Now, this gruelling hike is no small challenge for anyone, regardless of age. It's definitely not a walk in the park but a hike in the mountains that took 127 days. It was an achievement which would not have come about if she had listened to the naysayers, she said.

“Most of the time, people are afraid of what others will say. They are going to say I’m nuts anyway, but I know that I wanted to do it,” she said. There were others who extended their support, though. When her cardiologist brother realised that she was serious about the hike, he gave her a check up to “make sure that my heart could take it”.

Now, don't you just love to hate those naysayers! Unfortunately, we can't avoid them completely since they're everywhere around us. Most of them can even be well-meaning friends and relatives.

I can be stubborn as a bull, so I try to dodge them as much as I can. Like, I enjoy running but non-runners have been telling me how I'll wear out my joints or kill my heart. In business, we have our fair share of naysayers too.

Amy is right. If we listen to everyone of them, we'll be paralysed with fear and doubt. Then, we'll never get anything done.