With age comes wisdom, distilled from the years of experience. The realization then would be both unexpected and baffling initially and then it would be an awakening. In the flourish of youth we have lofty dreams, craving for the materialistic and a don’t care attitude, to ideas that do not meet our expectations. We are conscious about our appearance, seek to have the latest gadgets and accessories, are casual about our manners, are blissfully unaware of the risks we subject ourselves to and have a whole lot of idols to worship be they sports persons or actors. We are constantly chasing an elusive dream, through imitation and possibly trying to fit into the system around us.
Having tried and not really succeeded in what we imagined would bring us success, fame and popularity, we make the realization that we pursued were not goals and dreams but mere symbols of momentary applause and envy. As we evolve and gain experience we also mature and begin to rethink our priorities. Suddenly all our priorities of our youth look a tad foolish, maybe even naive and you wonder how you could be such a sucker for them. Unfortunately, we are often not very clear about the goals we want to purse but occasionally we do get more clarity on what we certainly don’t want to pursue. This itself is a good beginning, for by eliminating what we don’t want, we can see the more suitable options more clearly. What is common to all those who are successful, attain fame and recognition is that they have created and used the opportunities, have been hardworking and diligent in the pursuit of their goals and it is their qualities that are more recognized than their achievements and their possessions are always secondary to their passion and purpose.
To evolve as a person and to leave a mark in this world focus on
Your character – This is the personality that you would be always recognized and appreciated for. It is a mix of your values, your abilities, your performance and your dependability. The values help you define the boundaries of the ethics you follow, your abilities are testimony to your potential, your performance is proof of you utilizing your potential to the full and your dependability outlines the confidence a third party can have in you.
Your discipline – Discipline is the path that can be lonely, rough, difficult and frightening but it surely will lead you to any goal you set for yourself. Discipline is the test of your character put into action. Sacrifice is an essential element of discipline for whatever your do you are giving up a more pleasurable alternative purely to focus on you goal.
Your ideals – Small success give small results. It is therefore essential that we have large ideals, set the bar higher than what we can rationally imagine and make the goals worthwhile. Passing an exam is often the simplest goal a persona can have but outdoing one’s own performance of the past would be wonderful ideal to have.
Your sense of justice and fair play – Temptations often lead us astray; be it a tendency to cheat, be unethical in dealings, being unjust to those who cannot fight back or simply ignoring someone in difficulty because you don’t want to be party to the consequences. A sense of justice and fair play may come at a price but it is also an integral part of your character building process.
Your self belief – Not all our lofty ideals and plans will bear fruit all the time. Failure is common place but it is your self belief that will give you the energy and the will to get up and pursue your goals. Without self belief you would have too many doubts, constantly focus on the difficulties, turn into a pessimist and miss out on wonderful opportunities around.
Try these:
- Write a poem or short story or draw a cartoon or record a song or take photographs on a theme of your choice and get a feedback from your close friends on it. Don’t worry about their cynicism or criticism nor be taken in too much by their praise and applause. Unless you try you won’t discover the potential you have within.
- Identify 5 personalities you admire. List out the specific trait /s that you admire in them. Are there any traits you can adopt / adapt?
- What is the most frequently heard criticism about yourself that you get from your family and friends? What have you done to minimize / eliminate this criticism?
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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