Why so hard on you, son?
We come across many stories of rags to riches, and get inspired by them. We try to explore the journey of successful people, coming from the field of sports, business, politics, movies, etc. It helps in getting the right motivation in our own life. And that is great.
The common elements which you might find in any success story are hard work, persistence and persistence. The general notion which is being developed here is that in order to be successful you always have to take the bumpier road and make the tougher decisions. But there is one thing often being missed. And that is, everyone isn’t the same, both physically and mentally. And everyone need not want the same thing.
Do you ever think about why not take the easy way out? Why do we have to be so hard on ourselves for making us realize that we are a part of something big? Why does ‘struggle’ always have to be the pretext of success?
Almost everyone today is a victim of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the condition of having inconsistent thoughts and seeking out for things which we do not really want. But the world around us has inculcated in our minds that we need it.
If you have a decent job, paying enough to cater for your needs and allowing you to live a hassle free life, then that’s good if this was your aim in the first place. It is okay if you are not willing to take up the challenges which some random people are throwing at you, be it directly or indirectly. You being satisfied and happy is being successful, right there. There isn’t always the need to go out of the way and make sacrifices, especially the ones which you probably aren’t prepared for.
Like every story which has two sides, motivational videos, stories and speeches also have another side. Some get inspired, while for others an idea is planted in the subconscious mind that ‘your life is not worth it unless it’s massive’. Why can’t it be? We read stories of super successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, and learn how much they have achieved, but do we ever explore their dark side of the story. Things like how rigid and ruthless they were in their approach which actually might be necessary for moving forward, but are these the right things to do? And more importantly, is it something which you would like to do.
You could be doing just fine before someone told you that there is still a lot to be done, and you won’t serve the purpose of your life if you do not set yourself for achieving it.
Understanding these basic emotions is very important for good mental health. With so much of stress in today’s fast moving world, depression is an extremely common thing. And more often than not depressions go undiagnosed because of the taboo associated with it.
If you look on a day to day basis, the number of times you are being told that you are sad is a lot more than the number of times you are being told that you are happy. And that is what leaves us agitated and confused.
We feel the urge to go under the grind to make life purposeful, why can’t it be the other way around? The simpler option can be the better option. It’s all about staying clear in your head, because it’s about you and not what someone else did to get something which you don’t even care about.
Originally published at medium.com