Speaking of the well… Two people are down a well, and one says to the other:
“Don’t try climbing out. I tried before, and it’s impossible. Do yourself a favour and save your energy and time.”
The one trying to discourage the other never put his whole heart into it. He made only a half-hearted attempt. He tried only what was easy and gave up at the first slip.
The second eventually stops listening to him and tries again and again, until his hands grow accustomed to the wall and he manages to escape. From outside, he throws down a rope, and the story has two endings.
In one, the first man acknowledges his mistake, accepts the help gratefully, and takes hold of the rope. Once he is out, they celebrate their freedom together.
In the second, he refuses the help because he cannot admit he was wrong. By the time he understands how to get out, his life has passed him by, and he realises he was the one who had truly wasted his time.
In that second ending, he denied the other man twice: first, when he told him he could not escape; second, when he refused to accept the gift of freedom.
When you deny someone, you deny their dreams, their abilities, their gifts, their will, their potential, and their latent strength. You trample on their goals, their dreams, and their desire to move forward.
Why deny them? Because you are afraid they might achieve something you never dared to attempt with your whole Being.
If someone asked me, I would say:
“If you truly believe it will make you happy, then give it everything you’ve got. And if it doesn’t make you happy, it is because you needed to discover that this wasn’t where happiness lay, that this wasn’t what you were really looking for.”
Who am I to cut their journey short or stand between them and their dreams?