A clear picture of our dreams and desires is quintessential to accomplishing them. Knowing our final destination determines where we arrive by the end of the day, the month and the year. Visualisation of our mission, vision and calling in life, makes the difference between realizing or losing it.
So, it all begins with one word, and that is …. clarity
Lack of clarity means a lack of direction
What happens to a ship that doesn’t have a compass, a radar, and is unaware of its final destination? It merely flounders in the sea. What is the fate of an aeroplane not knowing where to land? It keeps circling in the skies, runs out of fuel and crash-lands somewhere.
And, most of us are floundering through the sea of our lives in utter confusions─ unaware of our aims, ambitions and aspirations. Uncertain of our priorities, we keep performing meaningless tasks day in and day out, still expecting success.
But if we don’t have clear ideas about what we want, it is highly unlikely we will have them accomplished.
Why does success keep eluding us!
Primarily because we don’t exercise the effort to determine our real inclinations and passions, to find out who we are and what is our purpose. We keep postponing the identification of the truth and clarity about ourselves.
And even if we find what we are best at, we still elect to pass through our lives playing it safe─ accepting the status quo, rather than challenging it.
We keep escaping the reality about ourselves, as once we know who we are, we shall have to make the real choices and follow through upon them. It would require us to grow into who we think we are. Here are the four excuses which stop us from becoming the best version of ourselves:
- Fear of failure
Subconsciously, we all detest and dislike failing. The mere thought of failing sends shivers down our spine; it makes us weak in our knees. So, we avoid discovering the clarity of our goals, as it would involve a lot of failures to live with that clarity.
We adopt a defensive mechanism preferring to stay paralysed or immobilised in our shells for years. But, deep down it’s the fear of failing which is stopping us dead in the tracks and making the bold moves.
2. Fear of the unknown
These are forbidden areas where none of our friends or relatives has ever done anything. We get jitters believing or imagining that we can do something astounding or exceptional in these genres, even though we know we have that spark inside.
There are certain professions like dancing, singing, photography, athletics, acting etc which have a negative or dark perception, or an unconventional tag attached to them. Its fear-provoking and nerve-wracking to even think of following these streams. Therefore, we shirk from entering these unknown zones.
3. Lack of commitment
Sometimes we are confident of our choices, but still don’t pursue our passions, because we dread the work to accomplish them. A lack of commitment and perseverance prevents us from making the decisions, doing the planning and taking the concerted actions.
Also, our chosen streams may not be promising or rewarding right from the word go. But because of our obsession with the instant, and expectation of immediate or instantaneous results, we duck from taking that responsibility of slogging, labouring, stretching and sweating towards them.
4. Fear of Rejection
Another justification withholding us from finding and living with clarity is the fear of rejection or ostracisation─ the psychological need to have the acceptance of our family and society. We are more concerned about what others say, feel or think about us; preferring to fall in our own eyes than in the eyes of the world.
We are so concerned about the opinion of others that we favour following the laid-back course, doing the routine work and staying in our comfort-zones. We are afraid of cutting a sorry figure, or looking dumb before others while failing to achieve our goals. And this is reason enough not to take the leap of faith in the direction of our dreams.
Success has a price
Remember friends, success has a price to pay, and that price has to be paid in full and in advance. It’s like eating at the fast-food joint where we have to pay for our meals first, take the coupons and then collect the meals.
Likewise, in our lives, the price for success is clarity, which has to be ascertained at the outset. And if we are casual about paying that price, we shall end up a casualty. To initiate and sustain success in our lives, we have to find and stay connected with clarity.
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