What if someone told you that your success is an outcome of your luck? Is that enough for you to lash out and explain how your hard work and dedication have gotten you to the position where you are right now? What if I told you that your success is indeed a product of two contradictions? So why is the nature of your success contradictory? Before you could understand that, let's take a couple of minutes to get to know these contradictions. Contradiction 1: Your belief that it's your hard work and countless sleepless nights that have abled you to climb that success ladder and stand at the top. But, on the other hand, Contradiction 2: Your awareness that Contradiction 1 is a lie and your luck has played an important role in getting you where you are. This antithetical concept is the Success Paradox. But why does your success require to be paradoxical? The truth is, it doesn't. But it's the best approach that one should take to remain in touch with reality. It is human natu...
If I had a penny for every time I heard the phrase, “Make your passion your work, and then you won’t work for a single day in your life.” Then, I’d have been a millionaire by now. It’s easier said than done. Pursuing your dreams takes you on a path that’s mostly filled with broken glass and you’re asked to walk barefoot. Our hard-wired mindset with a strong affinity for security pleads in front of us not to take risks. Even the heavenly results of a calculated risk associated with a venture make it seem like a dragon breathing fire on an individual drenched in gasoline. That’s the reality of this hard-wired mentality that irks for security. And this mentality is most prevalent in the ‘middle-class’ section of society.
Among the three sections of society, the middle-class is most susceptible to this mentality. The other two classes namely, ‘The Rags’ and ‘The Riches’ often don’t suffer from this desire for security that much. I am not saying that it’s easier for these two to follow and achieve their dreams. The struggle is real for everyone but, it’s about the choice of following their dreams which becomes easy for these two as compared to the section that’s sandwiched in between. So, how does it become easier for these two? Let’s take the example of the Rags. Granted, that their struggle might be the hardest in achieving their dreams but we are talking about the choice of following the dreams. The risk of losing something while walking on the path towards your dreams is simply not there. One can’t lose something one doesn’t possess. Hence, it becomes easier for some to follow their dreams because they are not hindered by the thought of losing something. Compared to the section on the extreme end, can somebody be afraid of losing anything when they have everything? The Riches form that section of the society that doesn’t need to worry about losing their bread and butter and hence, a sense of security is often their prerogative which can be fulfilled even if they follow the path to their desires or not. If the basic needs are being met and one can freely think about buying luxury with what they already have, then, this hard-wired mentality often takes a backseat. Hence, in the spectrum that stretches across the three sections of society, the strongest affinity towards security is found in the middle. Even if, for some reason, a person learns to look past this mentality, the variables that live in the society act as a constant reminder.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that no dreams are fulfilled for the middle-class. But, it’s about the choice they need to make in order to follow their dreams and weigh it next to the risks that are associated and hope that the expected outcomes shall outweigh these risks. And the position where this choice is to be made is the riskiest position for chasing dreams because, one not only needs to worry about the challenges and hurdles that they’ll need to face in the future but also about the risk of losing somewhat of a beneficial position that they have acquired, possibly, after the hard work of an entire generation. The rewards are indeed attractive and the satisfaction achieved from the gratification of dreams is unparalleled but getting over that sense of security and the fear of losing it is the hardest thing to do. But once done, everything else becomes easier. Also, if they are not careful, all their nightmares become reality when things don’t turn out the way they hoped. This happens because there is a very thin line between being careless and being brave. Your bravery will take you to the stars but your carelessness will personally introduce you to rock-bottom.
The journey towards the stars includes a bumpy ride and the risks are always real but, if we had given in to this fear of the unknown and the security of being on the land, would we have planted a flag on the moon? Would we have stepped on the moon? Would we have sent spacecraft beyond the solar system? The risks don’t get real than that. But the satisfaction derived always reaches new heights. We all know that with great power comes great responsibility! And with great dreams come great risks. But once we teach ourselves to overcome this hard-wired mentality that loves security, that’s when we can begin our journey to achieve greatness.
[Speaking of greatness, we recently achieved international status. We got six international downloads on the NotionWave Podcast. I know it’s a small number but, at least we broke the barrier. So kudos to everyone who took out time to read or listen to whatever I have to say. Thank you so much for reading this article.]
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This is an amazing read that I come across
ReplyDeleteI like how the author is breaking the barrier😂
ReplyDeleteMe too ��
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