One important lesson in life that I learned as far back as my teenage years is the importance of pushing hard to apply myself to whatever I’m involved in at the time to the best of my ability. Consequently, this has meant that I’ve managed to achieve some fairly significant milestones along the way.
What troubles me somewhat in New Zealand in the current era is an almost apathetic/ complacent attitude being displayed by some people towards what they’re involved in. It troubles me because:
a) Do these people not realise that they only live once ?!
b) There is no place for mediocrity in today’s highly competitive world – particularly the business world. It is proving to be the case that those who settle for “going with the flow” seldom enjoy sustainable businesses, mainly due to aggressive competition outstripping their performance.
If you want to remain competitive and enjoy a commendable share of the market that your organisation operates in then you simply must keep applying yourself to the best of your ability. Kick apathy to one side and make the conscious decision to keep striving to be the best that you are capable of being at what you do. Giving-up is not an option.
To transfer the above dialogue into the parent-child relationship world, it intrigues me to watch various parents allow their children to withdraw from playing XYZ sport, after having sought (and received) the commitment of their child at the time of registering them in the given sport that they would stick with the given sport for the duration of the season. Make no mistake about it, this is in fact an act of “giving up”. These parents are (inadvertently or not) teaching their kids that it is O.K. to give up when the going gets tough – or simply because they have had enough of doing what they have been doing.
New research is revealing findings that reinforce what many adults of my generation have known throughout our lifetimes, and that is one of the greatest determinants of success is “grit” (determination). Success comes to those who apply themselves solidly to the task at hand in order to generate the best result possible – and don’t give up when hurdles appear in front of them. Don’t just be a high achiever – be an out-performer ! And when those small-minded people attempt to cut you down to size for what they see as being a ‘Tall Poppy’, ignore their antics and become even stronger !
If you want to enjoy the feeling of having realised your true potential as a human being during your lifetime then you simply must ignore the antics of small-minded people and maintain your pursuit of self-actualisation. You owe it to yourself to maintain this path through life. There is no greater positive feeling for a person to experience – and no-one else can create this feeling for you !