Many or possibly even most of the life issues we come across that we think are stop signs, are only speed bumps. A speed bump slows you down, but it doesn’t stop you.

Some people because of fear or insecurity, will call a speed bump a stop sign. Why? Because they don’t believe they can handle the rejection if the idea fails. There are people that look for reasons something won’t work. You’ve seen people like that just like I have. It doesn’t matter what the idea is, there is always something wrong with it. Keep in mind, these same people never have an idea of their own but always enjoy tearing down other people’s idea. I have a distant family member that is like that. Just to look at him he is one of those people that thinks he holds all the wisdom and just loves for people to ask him what he thinks. He is sour man that just walks around with a cloud over him. He really enjoys playing the roll of the ultimate advisor on all things about life.

I remember one family gathering he was just sitting over in the corner all prune-faced just waiting for someone to ask him what he thought so he could spring into action. It made me laugh (under my breath) when no one wanted to know what he thought. He finally got up and left and I have never asked him his opinion since. There are people like this in every walk of life from business, family, financial and even in many churches. They never agree with anything and always point out the weak points and list the why’s it will never work.

Lastly there are many people that look for a stop sign so they can have a good reason not to do something. They (in their heart) don’t believe they can do it, so they fabricate a speed bump into a stop sign so they can say “see, I told you.” In our neighborhood we have many more speed bumps than we do stop signs. They say to the driver, we just want to slow you down a little bit, but not stop you. That’s the way it should be in life, slow down a little and be cautious, careful, and thoughtful, but don’t let fear be a stop sign. KT