Virtually all of us underestimate ourselves and overestimate the competition in some form or other. It’s an inner dialogue that goes back through millennia.
Whether we chalk it up to the human tendency to not stick our heads above the trenches, it creates an odd yet mindset-changing paradox. Let us explain.
Because nearly all of us resign ourselves to believing that we can’t achieve the really big things in life and careers that we believe others can, we tend to drop our sights to the less-than-big things.
We believe that because the world is so full of people delivering, achieving & generally being much more successful than we are, we’ll fail and look stupid amongst the clever people drinking champagne at the party of success. They’ll laugh and never invite us back again.
Our world may look a bit like this:
But this is the paradox. And it’s a charmer!
Because, in reality, the space above us that we think is teeming with beautifully clever people who are more successful than us, is actually quite empty. As in, nobody-showed-up-at-the-party, empty.
We live in a world of collective insecurity. It’s why Instagram has become so pervasive, allowing anyone to project the myth of the perfect life that is far different than the life they actually lead.
In reality, the space above us is clear. Why? Because virtually all of us have the same fears as everyone else - that everyone else will be more successful.
What this means is;
There is FAR less competition for achieving big goals.
There is FAR less competition for putting our crazy ideas into the universe.
There is FAR less competition for making the big leaps in life.
In reality, the world looks like more this;
The next time you think about giving up on your ambition because you think you’re just not smart enough, fast enough, big enough, clever enough, cool enough, or generally, enough - remind yourself, that you really really are.
Take a step into the space above you.
With Ambition, Goals & Love,
The Jolt.