Poppy? Listent! Let yourself grow
There is an old story about a ruler who wanted advice on how to deal with the most influential people in a neighboring city. Instead of answering, he walked through a garden and struck down the tallest poppies. The messenger understood the message: remove the people who stand out.
The story is associated with the ancient Roman king Tarquin, and the phrase “tall poppy syndrome” became especially associated with Australia and New Zealand. Japan has a similar saying: “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” The images differ, but the message is familiar: people who rise above the crowd may be mocked, resented, or urged to make themselves smaller. History of Tall poppy syndrome
But the story leaves out something important. The poppy does not grow tall to insult the flowers beside it. It grows toward the light. Its height is not an act of arrogance; it is the result of being alive, reaching, and becoming what it is capable of becoming.
So go ahead and be a poppy anyway.
You may have a gift for teaching, healing, building, leading, making people laugh, or seeing possibilities that others miss. Develop it. Practice it. Let it become useful to other people. You do not need to apologize for caring deeply about your work or wanting to do it exceptionally well. Confidence does not require putting anyone else down. It simply means you stop cutting yourself down to make other people comfortable.
Some people will criticize your growth. Let them. Their discomfort does not have to become your instruction manual. Listen when feedback can make you wiser. Leave behind the pressure to shrink just because someone finds your ambition inconvenient. Grow with humility, but grow.
Build a life around what you can do
There is another kind of label that can pull us away from our potential: the belief that adding a diagnosis or a string of letters – ADD, ADHA, ODD etc. – to your name will automatically bring the attention, understanding, or success you want. A real diagnosis can be valuable to a degree. Maybe. It may help someone understand their experience, find effective treatment, and receive needed support. There is no shame in seeking that help.
But inventing or adopting a label simply to attract attention cannot reveal your gifts or develop your abilities. A label alone cannot do the work of practice, courage, patience, or connection. It may even lead you to see yourself only through a limitation, instead of noticing the strengths and possibilities you can build on.
Ask a better question: What do I do well? What am I willing to improve? Where does my interest meet a real need? Then invest your energy there. Find your talent and ride it toward the stars. You do not have to be the tallest person in every garden. You only have to stop trimming your own possibilities before they have a chance to bloom.
Go ahead and be a poppy anyway.
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