Fear, Laziness, and Pessimism
YOU are capable of producing great work.
But are you?
It is possible that you merely producing the minimum required of you. You may even have a list of sensible sounding reasons why now is not the right time to take bold action to achieve success: you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re too tired, you’re having too much fun, you’re feeling depressed, you’re too inexperienced, the economy is down, your family needs you, [insert more sensible sounding reasons here].
It is possible that your “sensible sounding reasons” are merely excuses which help to hide fear, laziness, or hopeless pessimism. If you think this might be the case, then here are 3 thoughts to help you combat these obstacles:
- Fear: You may be concerned about how other people will respond to your efforts, and whether they will criticise you. To combat this fear, consider the words of Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.” If your actions do not meet with criticism, then you may still have a long way to go. Accept criticism as one likely step along your path to ultimate success.
- Laziness: What is your goal? If you don’t have a destination, then it will be pretty hard to get moving. Once you have a clear goal, take baby steps. Break it down into realistic and achievable chunks. Get moving, but don’t overstretch. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Pessimism: Pessimism is merely a habit of negative self talk. This bad habit can be broken, and the first step is to understand your self talk and how you can adopt a more positive style. A good place to start would be to read Seligman’s book on the subject called “Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
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