You're a Pop Star
- roamcare
- May 7
- 2 min read
Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil, but the kernels do not pop at the same time. That bit of “pop” philosophy is brought to us anonymously from various social media sources. One doesn’t often find true value in unknown social sources seemingly bent on clicks and likes, but whoever came up with this one may have hit on something. We are all in this together, yet we also aren’t all together in this.
Much too often we tend to compare ourselves with others and that is not meant to be always in a negative way. When we see someone doing something we admire, or we see someone we admire doing something, a first thought may be “I’d like to do that,” or “I wish I had her confidence.” They may seem the most innocent of circumstances, yet we still are comparing ourselves.
Wanting to aspire to something better than you are currently is a positive for most people. We should be grateful for opportunities for improvement. There are some people who cannot take the step to improvement typically are happy doing what they can do, and they are happy continuing to do it well. For those looking to improve, to be better tomorrow than yesterday, the danger comes when we don’t perceive we are making progress fast enough. In our impatience to be better, we spend so much more time and energy concentrating on getting to the next step that we begin losing grip on the rung we occupy.
Some time ago we put into Moment of Motivation the single sentence “Knowing where you’re going is more important than getting just anywhere fast.” Not unlike those popcorn kernels who know they will all eventually become a tasty snack, we know we will become better versions of us, it just takes time.
We are into May, and the year is a third behind us. It is easy to say, “It’s May already and I’ve done so little this year.” More of us are lamenting that “fact” than we likely want to admit. The more difficult declaration, yet the one we should be considering is, “I have eight more months to begin 2026 as a better person that I started as at the beginning of 2025.”
Knowing where you’re going is more important than getting just anywhere fast.
We are all in this together, yet we also aren’t all together in this.
Two thoughts not necessarily saying the same thing but saying the same thing. It doesn’t matter if someone progresses faster than you do, as long as you progress for as long as you want to progress.
You do not have to impress anybody but yourself and you don’t have to put yourself on a timeline to do it. Whatever “it” you want to do or do better, you do have to inspire yourself. In fact, you should be constantly inspiring yourself to be whatever you aspire to be. Do that and it will come more naturally than you may think. It make take some time but eventually all the popcorn pops.
What a remarkable image! You're correct--all the kernels will eventually pop unless there's something wrong with the kernel. But being kind to ourselves by choosing to move forward at our own pace to the places and spaces we feel called to, rather than running after someone else's dream, is essential. The ladder image is grand--not being so anxious for the next step that we lose sight of where we are in the moment. You all are true philosophers. Great words to consider and live by.