Tag: failure

Your True Potential Awaits

This morning I was working on something for my college project and made an interesting metaphorical observation.

pot3The cutting discs that are used on a rotary tool are very brittle. You can easily break them or snap them in two with your fingers. However, mounted on a spindle and spun at thousands of rotations per minute, those very same fragile discs can cut through steel.

This is similar to what happens to us, humans. We have our moments of weakness and we fall. But we should know and always remember that at times like these we may not be getting properly utilized. Subjected to the right conditions and determination, our true potential awaits us to realize it.

As you grow older, not realizing your true potential at the right time becomes one of your biggest regrets. That is why it is quintessential that you capitalize on the opportunity to self-actualize and be the best that you can be.

  • Self-introspect: Each one of us, either implicitly or explicitly, wants to have some meaning in our lives – to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. One way for this is to recognize what you are passionate about and follow that. This requires lots of self-introspection and brutal honesty with you. It is not necessary for your passion to earn you money; it just needs to be able to make you feel happy and fulfilled. Your passion could be as complex as painting on a canvass or as simple as sitting down and reading a book.
  • Say ‘no’: The society today is such where people have an intense fear of missing out (or FOMO, if you will). Saying ‘no’ is extremely underrated. But you need to realize that every time you say ‘yes’ to something that you don’t want, you are essentially saying ‘no’ to something that you do want. Learn to wisely say ‘no’ to the things pot2which are not instrumental in reaching your true potential. After all, your time is very limited and you wouldn’t want to waste it on trivial things that don’t even make you happy.
  • Success is a process: People often glorify success, but they don’t see the blood and sweat from the endless hours of effort that is put in getting there. They miss out on recognizing the journey to reach the destination. Remember during your darker days that success is not an event; it is a process. Doing something every day helps more in achieving your goal than sporadic periods of work.
  • Know your weaknesses: In order to achieve the best version of you, know what your strengths and talents are, and use them to focus on your goal. But more importantly, know where your weaknesses lie. Always be on the lookout for areas where you can improve on. Be better than you were yesterday. This does not mean you shouldn’t be proud of yourself; it is saying you should never be stagnant.

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Time is forever fleeting. Do not put off anything that you will regret later. The best time to start something was always yesterday. But the clock is still ticking; you are not out f time yet. The next best time is now. Now go out there and spin really fast, cutting through the steel while figuring out life along the way.

mage COurtesy: GOOGLE

Being Average

Do you, as a student, teenager, or maybe even a person, sometimes feel that you might be too average? Is there a nagging feeling in your heart that you do not have what it takes to be at the top, to accomplish something and be happy in your success? It is like you were sheltered too much since your childhood and told repeatedly what an amazing kid you were. And now, when you face the real world on your own, you realize that that is just something that all parents say to their children. Every parent considers their child to be unique and quirky. But the truth is far from that. You are not any more special than the next kid, despite what you were made to believe back then.

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This has now probably rocked your whole belief system. You just have one constant thought in your mind:  You are just too average; you are good for not much.

Well here’s a news flash for all of you thinking that: You are not the only one who feels that way. Almost every other person feels he is too average for this world.

davIt is an interesting facet of human nature that people seem to have a psychological need to come up with the sort of fictional superheroes and saviors that embody perfection, success, and everything else a person wishes to be.

Taking the example of Batman, every person has wished at some point in his life to be like Bruce Wayne – world-renowned billionaire, a tech genius, athletic, handsome with a chiseled jaw and muscles as if Zeus himself came down from Olympus and carved him, and when he is not inventing some technology to save the world, he is there helping the weak and the downtrodden.

Characters like this have been created because of people’s need to cope with their own feelings of helplessness at times. Not that you should not try your best in any given situation, but you need to learn to accept mediocrity when you end up there despite your best efforts. Now, preaching this is one thing, and actually following through with this is another. This becomes a little difficult when there are not many people arguing the merits of mediocrity, of being blasé boring and average.

avg2Every one of you has your own set of strengths and weaknesses. But the fact remains, you are average at most of the stuff you do. Maybe you are an expert in linear algebra, or even playing guitar. But the likelihood is pretty high that you are average at so many other things you do. A single person cannot be an extraordinary performer in all areas of life. And that is okay.

Why? Because mediocrity considered as a goal is not good. But mediocrity as a result, on the other hand, is acceptable. There are only a few who get this and even lesser still who accept this. Being average is not in any way a standard of failure. You should continue on with living your lives and doing boring chores, chores that you feel make you average. Maybe you are average in a field for a reason because, at the end of the day, you are what actually matters.

Image Courtesy: GOOGLE

Life hacks to be Successful!

Treat Failure Like a Scientist

When a scientist runs an experiment, there are all sorts of results that could happen. Some results are positive and some are negative, but all of them are data points. Each result is a piece of data that can ultimately lead to an answer.

And that’s exactly how a scientist treats failure: as another data point.

This is much different than how society often talks about failure. For most of us, failure feels like an indication of who we are as a person.

Failing a test means you’re not smart enough. Failing to get fit means you’re undesirable. Failing in business means you don’t have what it takes. Failing at art means you’re not creative. And so on.

But for the scientist, a negative result is not an indication that they are a bad scientist. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Proving a hypothesis wrong is often just as useful as proving it right because you learned something along the way.

Your failures are simply data points that can help lead you to the right answer.

Failure Is the Cost You Pay to Be Right

None of this is to say that you should seek to make mistakes or that failing is fun. Obviously, you’ll try to do things the right way. And failing on something that is important to you is never fun.

But failure will always be part of your growth for one simple reason…

If you’re focused on building a new habit or learning a new skill or mastering a craft  of any type, then you’re basically experimenting in one way or another. And if you run enough experiments, then sometimes you’re going to get a negative result.

It happens to every scientist and it will happen to you and me as well. ‘ Failure is simply a cost you have to pay on the way to being right.’

Treat failure like a scientist. Your failures are not you. Your successes are not you. They are simply data points that help guide the next experiment.

To Boost Happiness, Stack the Pain

Here is an example…

On a normal day, you might have something annoying or painful to do (like paying the bills). And you also might have something good happen to you (like a friend sending you a thoughtful email).

If you read the email on your lunch break and then pay the bills when you get home from work, you will remember your day as going from a good experience to a bad experience. That’s the opposite of what you want.

However, if you decide to stack the pain early in your day — for example, if you pay your bills in the morning before you go to work and then read the email from your friend on your lunch break — you will remember your day as going from bad to good. As a result, you’ll feel happier because your brain likes it when experiences improve as time goes on.

Stacking the Pain for the Long-Term

It’s easy to worry about making the right choices with your life. However, if you choose to pursue things where the pain of the experience is largely in the beginning — like building a business, losing weight, or creating art — then you will tend to look back on those experiences fondly because they improve over time.

By comparison, doing things like trying to beat the stock market or become a professional gambler are very inconsistent. They can provide big wins, but they can also provide big losses at any time. The pain isn’t necessarily in the beginning. Because of this, these experiences are less likely to make you happy over the long-run.

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Never Fear to Fail .

Treat Failure Like a Scientist

When a scientist runs an experiment, there are all sorts of results that could happen. Some results are positive and some are negative, but all of them are data points. Each result is a piece of data that can ultimately lead to an answer.

And that’s exactly how a scientist treats failure: as another data point.

This is much different than how society often talks about failure. For most of us, failure feels like an indication of who we are as a person.

Failing a test means you’re not smart enough. Failing to get fit means you’re undesirable. Failing in business means you don’t have what it takes. Failing at art means you’re not creative. And so on.

But for the scientist, a negative result is not an indication that they are a bad scientist. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Proving a hypothesis wrong is often just as useful as proving it right because you learned something along the way.

Your failures are simply data points that can help lead you to the right answer.

Failure Is the Cost You Pay to Be Right

None of this is to say that you should seek to make mistakes or that failing is fun. Obviously, you’ll try to do things the right way. And failing on something that is important to you is never fun.

But failure will always be part of your growth for one simple reason…

If you’re focused on building a new habit Or learning a new skill or mastering a craft of any type, then you’re basically experimenting in one way or another. And if you run enough experiments, then sometimes you’re going to get a negative result.

It happens to every scientist and it will happen to you and me as well. To paraphrase Seth Godin: Failure is simply a cost you have to pay on the way to being right.

Treat failure like a scientist. Your failures are not you. Your successes are not you. They are simply data points that help guide the next experiment.

Working When Work Isn’t Easy

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated.

When I was an athlete, I loved going to practice the week after a big win. Who wouldn’t? Your coach is happy, your teammates are pumped up, and you feel like you can beat anyone. As an entrepreneur, I love working when customers are rolling in and things are going well. Getting results has a way of propelling you forward.

But what about when you’re bored? What about when the work isn’t easy? What about when it feels like nobody is paying attention or you’re not getting the results you want?

It’s the ability to work when work isn’t easy that makes the difference.

It’s Not the Event, It’s the Process

All too often, we think our goals are all about the result. We see success as an event that can be achieved and completed.

But if you look at the people who are consistently achieving their goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s their commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practice, not the individual event.

What’s funny, of course, is that this focus on the process is what will allow you to enjoy the results anyway…

If you want to be a great writer, then having a best-selling book is wonderful. But the only way to reach that result is to fall in love with the process of writing.

If you want the world to know about your business, then it would be great to be featured in Forbes magazine. But the only way to reach that result is to fall in love with the process of marketing.

If you want to be in the best shape of your life, then losing 20 pounds might be necessary. But the only way to reach that result is to fall in love with the process of eating healthy and exercising consistently.

What matters the most is the consistency and the feeling to keep thriving untill and unless the dreams are achieved .