3 Jan 2009
Taking the plunge
We are sometimes our fiercest critic. That can be either a curse, or a blessing. A curse, because we could end up being too judgmental about our own work. On other instances when our self evaluation leads to constructive ideas that have positive effects on the quality of our work, it could be a blessing.
More often than not, we are bogged down by our fear of what others might think. We are afraid of failure, rejection and criticism. We dare to dream, and yet decide not to take the plunge. We write ourselves off, without even giving ourselves a decent chance. After all, inaction can be comforting. But not for long. If you quit just because you were afraid of taking the plunge, then you will not be in peace with yourself. You will carry the burden of an unfulfilled dream.
So, just take the plunge. Do it because you believe in yourself. Do it because you are convinced you can succeed. Taking the plunge means growing a thick shell towards the naysayers. It means raging against the dying of the light. It means being patient and persevering. Above all, it means giving yourself a chance to prove yourself.
Do not judge yourself on the conclusions of others. Do not use someone else’s life as a yardstick to measure yours. Everyone is unique and thus accelerate at different rates and at different times. Evaluate your progress only against your own goals. Even if all goes wrong, you can’t cease to hope. And you definitely can’t stop working.
Dreams translate to hope, which in turn manifests as belief that eventually drives achievement.
Most of my sincerest regrets are for ‘not’ doing things than doing them. If that makes any sense.
And when you take a chance and work your hardest, only to be written off as inferior again (for the millionth time), like you expected.. what do you then? Keep working and hope that one fine day someone will notice, in vain? Or just give up and find something else to keep your mind occupied? Though the latter may seem weak, at the end of the day it might be the only thing keeping you from self-destruction.