There's always something to suggest that you'll never be who you

Phylicia Rashad, with the voice of both artist and sage, once declared: “There's always something to suggest that you'll never be who you wanted to be. Your choice is to take it or keep on moving.” In these words resounds the eternal struggle of mankind: the whisper of doubt, the shadow of obstacle, the voice of the world that seeks to bind the spirit. For every dreamer faces this trial—when the path is long, when the walls are high, when failure mocks and fear accuses. But the teaching here is clear: destiny is not shaped by the weight of opposition, but by the will to rise and continue, even when all signs point toward surrender.

The ancients spoke of this too. In the myths of Odysseus, storms, monsters, and temptations all cried out to him: “You will never see Ithaca again.” Each trial suggested defeat, yet he pressed onward, refusing to accept the voice of despair. Thus, in the end, he returned home, scarred but triumphant. So too Rashad’s words remind us that there will always be something—a failure, a critic, a fear—that says you cannot be who you long to become. The question is not whether obstacles will come, but whether the heart will yield to them or endure beyond them.

History gives us the example of Thomas Edison, who failed again and again before creating the electric light. At each defeat, the world suggested he would never succeed, that his dream was folly. Yet he “kept on moving.” His triumph was not the absence of discouragement, but the refusal to accept it. Each failure became a stepping stone, each setback a teacher. This is the heart of Rashad’s wisdom: to take discouragement is to surrender your future, but to move forward is to shape it.

For indeed, discouragement is subtle. It arrives not only through failure but also through voices of authority, through the laughter of others, through the cold silence of rejection. Many have yielded to this voice, abandoning their dreams to live small lives. But those who endure—the ones who refuse to accept these suggestions as final truth—become the builders of history. Moving forward is not a single step, but a lifelong march against the weight of doubt.

Think of Nelson Mandela, locked away in a cell for twenty-seven years. The world told him he would never see freedom, let alone lead his nation. Yet he did not “take it.” He kept on moving, even within the narrow confines of prison. He moved in spirit, in vision, in hope. And when the gates opened, his endurance became the seed of transformation for millions. His story is the living embodiment of Rashad’s truth: your choice is to take it, or to keep on moving.

This wisdom is not reserved for kings and heroes. It belongs to every soul. Each person faces the choice daily: to believe the voice of impossibility, or to continue toward their calling. Whether in the pursuit of art, of learning, of justice, or of love, all will encounter discouragement. But the truth is this—greatness belongs to those who persist when it seems foolish to persist, who walk on when the road disappears, who rise again when others have already laid down.

The lesson, then, is simple and eternal: do not accept every voice that tells you “no.” There will always be signs, real and imagined, that say your dream is impossible. Expect them, but do not yield to them. Keep moving, keep striving, keep shaping yourself into who you are meant to be. For the only final defeat is surrender; every other obstacle is but a passage.

Practical action follows: When discouragement speaks, answer it with movement. Write the next page, take the next step, endure the next trial. Surround yourself with those who believe, but above all, believe in yourself. Set your eyes not on what whispers against you, but on the horizon of who you are becoming. For in the end, the world will try to convince you otherwise, but the truth lies in your own choice: to take it, or to keep on moving. And blessed are those who move, for they shall find the fullness of life.