If you're careful enough, nothing bad or good will ever happen to you.~Ashleigh Brilliant
Courage is the price life exacts for peace.~Amelia Earhart
Sometime back, (come to think of it, a long time back.... but then, as DA said, time is an illusion; lunchtime doubly so)I was chatting with Aai & Baba (over cups of piping hot tea) about how all things general. One of my close acquaintances recently had a great new job opportunity - and was now able to do something she wanted to do for all her life. It was great to hear about that. She was now in the U.S. for about 5 years and things were looking good. My dad remarked about how it had been a very difficult decision for her to leave the well settled life and leave to pursue her idea of success. It was a uncertain future for her back then. But it had paid off.
What is the most essential ingredient to 'success'? What is that one thing which differentiates the successful* from the ordinary? What do you mean by success anyway?
After little pottering around with those thoughts (and obviously with nothing better to do - what with the depressing snow et al.) I've an observation and a conclusion:
The basic fact of life is that we all prefer to stay right in our comfort zones. And that's where it all goes wrong.
All of us face problems. Different ones at different times, but we all face them. They may be palpable ones - ones that have been defined for us - or ones which we seek or need to define ourselves.
Quite often in life we prefer not to deal with our problems/hurdles, simply because we are afraid of failure. We are scared that we may fail, thereby not to achieving what we set out to do. Many of us, I'm afraid, wonder "what people would think". We seem to almost lie in waiting, waiting for that moment when the problem would pass away; after all it would be so much easier.
But somehow we don't seem to realize, that it is by denying action on those problems that we actually end up failing.
Ironically then, we fail because we are afraid of failure.
I'm sure that there comes a time in everybody's life, a moment of realization,when you can see that if you don't act you will definitely fail. This is usually a breaking point. It is a point where the person is stretched to his/her limits. It is then the character of the person which decides how he or she will react. Some will break down and accept failure. Others will fight all odds/act on it. Remember though, in all cases success comes only to those who get out of that comfort zone.
That said however, getting out of the comfort zone is a necessary but not sufficient condition for 'success'.
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* I won't waste my time defining success here. Take it as whatever you think it is. It _is_ basically what you think it is ;-). But there's definitely more to say. It deserves another post though.
**Don't you scoff at that. If you don't believe me, try searching for 'success' in wikipedia. You'll be redirected to an article on (surprise, surprise) social status. Now that says a lot doesn't it?
6 comments:
the footnote said a lot (2nd one)...and also one more point, its not just the fear of failure...thts the initial bit really...nothing can prepare neone for wht follows after one does go on a different path, its genuinely tough to keep up the spirit!
Well yes, I do agree with you, that overcoming the fear of failure is the initial point.
Oh yes, it can definitely be a very very lonely path, the one which is different, but then that's why it's 'different' isn't it? :)
And - I can't put my finger on how - but somehow both are related to our rather funny definition of success.
That said, the less you start caring about what others feel, the more stronger you get, the less fearful (of failure) you get, and that's when our spirits remain high.
I would like to screw with your theory and mind (like I always try to) by stating that success is about staying within your comfort zone come what may!
Take that :P
So wtf are you doing in Kharagpur when you'd rather be in Pune? Beacause that's more comfortable? Shendi.
Dude, what you seem to be saying is like doing what you like doing most. Comfort zone in that sense. But sometimes in order to be _able_ to do just that, you need to let go of other more comfortable factors (like living outside of that city you'd rather be in).
Sometimes, when you know you are doing the wrong stuff, getting rid of the inertia that always exists and choosing to correct yourself, when people would rather let it just be (chalta hai after all).
That's getting out of your comfort zone.
Feel free to try and screw my theory. That's why I put it on the blog anyway. :P
There are 2 kinds of successes. One is where the person you meet in the restaurant looks at you in awe. The second is where the person in the mirror looks back at you with a satisfied smile.
The first is as big or small as the illusion they call 'the comfort zone'.
The latter, cannot be defined (at least I can't define it).
Aditya, yes that's a pertinent point. As is obvious from the footnote, the definition #1 seems to be the default choice for people. But, as you rightly said, it is an illusion. Sachin Tendulkar being booed in Mumbai is the biggest testament. There's also an element of personal satisfaction in there. In the sense the personal satisfaction comes from the social status those people get.
That's one way of thinking.
As far as #2 is concerned, I believe you've also defined it to the extent in can be defined unambiguously. Beyond that, its again personal choice. What I like about this, you don't put your life and actions in others' hands.
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