Selling Ourselves Short

"No one believes their life will turn out just 'kind of okay'

We all think we're going to be great

...We are filled, with expectation...

Expectations of the trails we will blaze

The people we will help

The difference we will make

Great expectations of who we will be

Where we will go...

And we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren't met"

- Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy Season 3 Episode 13)

Late last year, a very dear friend asked me why I often loudly and proudly claim that I'm awesome. She opined that I risked coming across as arrogant and immodest.

I partly agreed. Yes, OTHER people would think so. But to what extent does their opinion matter?

In growing up, I have learnt to

not let the noise of others' opinions drown my own inner voice. And [even more] important, I [now] have the courage to follow my heart and intuition - they somehow already know what I truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs Stanford 2005 commencement address - Go to 12:42 - 12:57 below:



Check out some highlights of the above speech in our post about living in 2010.

Speaking of knowing what we want to become, we invariably have lofty ambitions and grand schemes about what we'd like our lives to be in the future. We however rarely do anything to make such dreams and aspirations come true. They remain just that - dreams :(
In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't, Jim Collins begins by stating a fundamental truth:

Good is the enemy of great.

The abundance of people, things and situations that are just good enough is the key reason why so little becomes great. Why break your back trying to make something great while good works just fine? In a recent post, a fellow freelancer dwelt on establishing the worth of services rendered by freelancers when they leave employment.

Our willingness to settle for and make do with what is good is a big problem. In so doing, we no longer push ourselves to the limit. We no longer go the extra mile, much less the requisite distance. We become too tolerant, we simply walk the already trodden path and never challenge convention.

How then, can we deal with this unfortunate situation?

I believe that each one of us needs to have more faith in him or herself. It is however equally important that such a firm faith in self be qualified by action.
Remember that the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that "little" extra. Everyone needs to go the extra mile, deliver much more than what's required and unrelentingly go beyond expectations. Only then can we move from good to great.

In any case, it is the unexpected that changes our lives.

Letting Go and Moving On in 2011

"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

- Steve Jobs

The new year is now upon us and with it comes many hopes and promises. We do have great expectations of what to accomplish this year before 2012 says hello. Driven by resolutions, many of us have already started doing the needful towards that end.

Looking back however, you may have been trying to make some changes in life or to attain your mandate in line with some set objectives, but failed to do so within the specified time.

Despite this devastating inability to achieve, you can still welcome 2011 without fear, regret and guilt the same way we welcomed 2010.
Additionally, the unexpected occurrences that made you look at the past year differently may as well be what ultimately changes your life.

Consider the following song titled "Hopeless" by Farris Dionne:


http://lyrics.stlyrics.com/lyrscroll.swf?page=http%3A//www%2Estlyrics%2Ecom/songs/f/farrisdionne14917/hopeless398152%2Ehtml

Should you feel hopeless in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds this year, remember that you can refuse to stay around or even take with you, a past that no longer does you right.

It no longer matters how badly you have failed in the past, how hopeless and worthless others perceive you, all the can change for better.