No two people are alike. Even in the same house, two siblings are not alike. Two identical twins are not alike either. Identical twins who share the same DNA patterns are also different in their thoughts, their opinions and their philosophies. It’s practically impossible to find a human being who is exactly like you and has the same belief systems as you do. When people find someone who likes two Netflix series that they are also into, they start believing that they have found a soulmate. This is the obscurity of the world that we live in right now. Well! The point is that you are unique and that’s what you are supposed to be. You are not supposed to fit in any box, you are not a result of your circumstances and you certainly are not meant to be a follower. The only thing you need to follow are your own dreams and your own aspirations, independently.
We hear about so many famous people, who have gone from Rags to Riches. We keep wondering whether it was really their hard work or just their luck. I would say it’s a mixture of both, but 90% hard work and 10% of acting on the opportunities that come into your life, which people like to call luck. Let’s look at the simple story of the actor Matt LeBlanc, popularly known as Joey from the biggest sitcom of all time, FRIENDS. He was born into a very middle-class family, with no known famous people in his life. That was his circle, a very small one. He went to school and then college, just to graduate. However, he dropped out at the age of 17 and moved to New York to become an actor. His mother told him “You don’t know the first thing about acting”. This could have demotivated him, but he chose to broaden his circle. He did a few modelling acts and was not able to gain any success for 7-8 years. He was down to 11 dollars before he landed on his biggest role in FRIENDS, after which his mother thanked him for the Mercedes that he gifted her. We all know the rest of the story. He chose to broaden his life circumference, by choosing to step out of the life that was given to him and he kept moving ahead.
We are all born into a certain family, certain circumstances on which we have absolutely zero control. Relatives are not chosen, we just get what we get. If a child is born in a family of Doctors, inadvertently in most cases he grows up to be a doctor. The child decides to stay in that circle he was born into. If a child born in a family of daily wage earners, wants to be a Doctor , he really has to broaden his circumference. When we speak about it, yes of course its not easy. When you go with the flow its easy, even in reality. If you are swimming with the current, you end up conserving your energy. It’s when you swim opposite to the current, its tedious, hectic and extremely difficult. It’s the path that you choose.
I can easily write, go broaden your life circumference. Thousands of motivational speakers will tell you to do stuff, but its challenging and seriously a hard thing to do. By nature, we are happy in our comfort zones so to get out of that zone and get into something else is extremely difficult, let alone choosing a career path in which you are not supported be. So to be practical, how do you do it? Now this is applicable at any age, as parents and teachers, you have got to motivate your children to understand this. As adults, you can think about it and add to it.
Identify your own passion independent from your surroundings.
Now passion can be anything. It can be as small as you wanting to be good at Yoga, you wanting a healthier body , you wanting to become a Doctor, a Lawyer, you wanting to become a good parent, you wanting to help out your children attain their dreams. Anything that you are passionate about, should be crystal clear in your head. It need not be your life goal, but maybe a more short-term goal for the next 5 years. You need to have a measurable goal, that is out of your comfort zone, but it makes you a happier version of yourself.
Chalk out your path to it.
Now remember this, it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to come to you on its own. When you have limited resources, it becomes even harder. So, planning your path becomes critical. Take smaller steps towards it. For example, if you want to become a lawyer, but your family cannot sponsor your education, you do not let that kill your dream. You plan your expenses, list out the universities that offer scholarships, take a break for a year or two and get in touch with the Lawyers in practice and work a job or two to save money for yourself and then go for it. Easier said than done but nothing is impossible if you are true to yourself and don`t give up.
Be consistent.
Consistency is the key to most things in life. Hard work always beats talent. If you choose a simple thing like becoming a runner, you’ve got to get up and run every single day, there is no taking a break. `If you cannot fly, run. If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl; but just keep moving forward` and you will reach your objective
Do not let your immediate circumstances decide your future. Strive to get better every single day, slowly and steadily. A pre-decided path is not yours to follow if it does not make you happy and if it does not help you reach your full potential. If you try for the moon, you will at least try to fly, and sometimes that’s the best beginning.
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