
As I sit here contemplating my life, there are many things in the balance. Things could go either way over the short term and give me some real difficulty, but the thing is that shit don't matter. Because I no longer play for the short term, I've transitioned out of that destructive mentality and moved to the long game.As a matter of fact I'm at a stage where rather than worrying about failure, I actually welcome it. While that sounds counterproductive it's quite the opposite. You see I've spent the majority of my life doing as many others do, trying to avoid failure. We will go to some extreme lengths to prevent failure and why?It's simple science, I'll save you the technical mumbo-jumbo because all you need to realise is the what and the why. We are social animals who rely on each other to survive, look out for one another and reproduce. At its most primal this society has a hierarchical structure, which determines who gets the best food, shelter and mates.This of course means that the perception our peers get of who we are and what we are capable of has a major impact on our social standing. A huge failure can be detrimental to this and it is much more comfortable in the middle of the pack than at the bottom. This creates and has ingrained in us over the centuries a strong instinct to avoid failure.It's understandable and reinforced throughout the years. In school, with friends and at home we're often ridiculed for our failures, which is others way of establishing the hierarchy and bettering themselves. It's the very reason you see so many people putting each other down as opposed to raising others up, it's a game of oppression.When you realise that these short term failures actually have little impact on the long term, it's liberating. You can cast away others opinions of you, ignore their perceptions and do what you know to be right. You see it's not about winning all the little battles in life, it's about winning the war.Which leads me back to my current situation. I'm on the cusp of some big changes, which could be construed as negative. While things are and may get rough along the way I'm more determined and focussed on my goals than ever before. By learning from mistakes I can develop skills, systems and self-awareness that will be a powerful asset in future endeavours.Long term always wins out over short term.Stay the course, it's a marathon not a sprint.
Published on January 11, 2018 02:12