Prompt: What is your opinion on the idea that our beliefs are influenced by the actions of others?
Personal Response to Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture”
When an individual witnesses the accomplishments of another, he or she may be internally motivated to work towards their own goal by reaching the maximum of their potential. There is nothing more inspiring than watching another person work hard towards a goal and finally achieve it in the end. However, watching one accomplish a minor achievement is insignificant compared to a major event, such as the first time man has ever walked on an extraterrestrial body of land: the moon. The rush of wonder and excitement at the witnessing of such a monumental event is incomparable, and serves as a reminder to humanity itself that nothing is impossible if you truly believe in it
While there is always debate on whether or not the billions of dollars spent on the Apollo moon landing was worth the cost, as the money could have been used to fight other widespread problems like poverty, one can argue that the moon landing was a monumental moment in the history of mankind. It has served to fuel the dreams of millions across the globe, reminding humanity that our capacity for greatness is limited only by our dreams. Spending millions of dollars on ending poverty may help people in the short term, but an event with the magnitude of the moon landing results in the inspiration of millions, even billions of people from across the world. Such a life-changing occurrence can change and motivate mankind into pushing their limits to their maximum potential, which is why we are unique. Even in our direst moments, we have always managed to move on with nothing but our intuition and wits, thus proving that we have the ability to do anything we dream of, as long as we have the will and motivation to do so.
When we dream, we lose ourselves in the tangles of lost thoughts and imaginations. Our ability to dream gives us a reason to wonder, to perceive things we never thought of before in a new light. These thoughts and ideas are often put aside in the backs of our heads, however, as we see them to be useless. It is when we see others take the initiative and act upon their hopes and beliefs that we too decide to put aside the nagging doubts and follow through on accomplishing what we hope for. Only then can we truly believe in our self to do whatever our heart desires.
