Are you feeling left behind. forge your own path.

Most people feel left behind. Here’s a simple solution how to deal with it.

No one knew social media would be seen as a vehicle to compare ourselves with other people. That has happened. Many of us feel left behind. We feel as though we aren’t achieving the success we always dreamed about. Social media often shows the best the world offers. Children and teenagers excelling at a rapid rate that many of us can’t dream of.

This is a problem for our self-esteem and general sense of worth. How can we compete with teenagers making their first million? Yet we’re struggling to even figure life out. We beat ourselves for not getting it sooner. Studies show that many people feel left behind in life. Most people want to achieve something grand, but don’t know how to do that. They see themselves as falling behind in life. Here is something staggering. In 2011, it was stated that 200 million Americans wanted to publish books. Yet, in 2022, only 0,03% of the population is a writer.

Here is another interesting fact. In 2018, it was stated that three out of five people want to start their own business. To be exact, 62% dreams of starting their own business. That is a staggering number. They are many people who feel left behind in life. More than you know. They are a lot of reasons people don’t go after their dreams. A lot of reasons they give up the goose. These facts show they are so many people with lofty dreams. Very few achieve them. That is why they call it the 1%. Most people give up way too easily.

Below I will point out how you can start going after your dreams even if you feel left behind in life. Before I go on. I need you to know something. We all have a choice. Either we let fear in or we face it. We can’t do both.

Comparison getting you down

Most people compare themselves to the next person. So and so is doing this. Why can’t I? So and so bought a new car. Moved into a new apartment, building complex, city or country. “Did you see what this person is doing on social media?” Social media has become a viewing room. Something to entertain us and distract us from going after our dreams. It makes us insecure. As we look at well-crafted social media feeds or even glance at people’s profile.

Here’s the thing: comparing yourself will make you feel left behind. It will make you question your decisions. Consider them and wonder why you aren’t doing X and X. Yet, you’re still alive who says you can’t. It’s almost as if we think we need to achieve our dreams at a certain age or timeline. If I don’t achieve this at this age, I’m a failure. Here’s the thing: the people who achieved those things earlier had a different childhood from you.

Their experiences made them who they are. Just like your experiences made you who you are. Why do senior citizens choose to learn an instrument? Many of them wake up with regret and wonder where the time went. I admire senior citizens who do that. Because it isn’t easy to learn anything new. Even when you’re young. Yet. Few people do. Few people choose to learn something that will build them up. That’s the thing. You decide who you want to be.

You decide where you want to go. The choice is yours. Don’t let comparison put you in a box. Don’t allow it to trap you and stop you from going after what you want.

You give too much power to fear

Many of us give fear way too much power. We see it as this force that can cause us to stop in our tracks. That is why many people feel left behind in life. They give fear too much power. When was the last time you did something you were terrified about? I’m terrified of heights, but I have done lots of things that make people wonder if I actually am.

Why do I do that? Simple. Because I don’t want to give fear too much power. If I do that, then fear will control my life and decisions. I don’t want to ever be in a position where I feel as if fear has too much power over me. I can’t let that happen. You shouldn’t as well. I once heard someone say fear are fake events appearing real. And that is true. When you’re afraid of something, often we exaggerate. Here’s an example. I was in an elevator once. The ones that have windows. I imagined it crashing to the ground. Will that ever happen? Unlikely. Unless I’m in a movie. Movies aren’t real. What happens in movies won’t happen in real life? Certain instances they happen. Like getting eaten by a shark. But you’ll only encounter this if you swim where sharks are.

Most of these things are situational. Many people allow fear to sink in. That is why they feel left behind. The best way to avoid this is to not give too much power to fear.

Social expectations

Society loves to give expectations. As if that is a parameter of success. Society will say you need to have done this at this age or achieved this in this time frame. Rules should be broken. The reason you’re feeling left behind is that you’re using society to determine what your life should be like. When I was in my early twenties, I felt like this a lot. I wanted to achieve so many things. Get my life going. But the thing is, I did not know how to do it. I was concerned with how people saw me. I didn’t work on how I saw myself.

That is the problem. We spend too much time wondering how people see us. Thinking that if I do X, then they’ll see me in a better light. Who cares what a stranger across the world thinks of you? Who cares what your aunt Mildred thinks about your singleness? The reason I say this is that there has to be a point where you care and defining yourself based world says about you. You can’t control what people think. That is just a fact. What you can do is think about who you want to be and where you want to go.

That should matter more than people’s opinions. People will always have opinions. Whether or not it’s true. You can’t let people’s opinions make you feel left behind in life. Not everyone is the same. Therefore, your journey won’t be the same.

Success isn’t linear

Success isn’t linear. It’s not a step-by-step system. Even if you think it’s a staircase. That’s often not the case. This is the number one reason you feel left behind. You see success in a straight line. It isn’t. They are ups and downs in life. You will achieve something great than the next thing you know is you hit a slump or a land mill. Why? Because that is how life is like. If life was linear, it would be boring. You wouldn’t enjoy it as much as you enjoy it now.

You wouldn’t experience the fullness that life offers. We need to understand life isn’t meant to be easy. It isn’t meant to be simple. As hard as that is, this is how we can achieve great things in life. We need to realize feeling left behind is normal, but it doesn’t determine where we go next. Whatever milestone you make, that is a step in the right direction. If you come across obstacles, that’s alright. That strengthens you. It builds you up. Pushes you out of your comfort zone. Creates opportunities that you never knew were even there.

Forge your own path

I used to think success was linear, so I’d follow the gurus’ advice. I’d think that this is how I’ll be successful. Few of us can follow someone successfully. Some of us don’t have that opportunity. We just don’t. We feel left behind because we believe we should follow someone’s path to become successful. That isn’t true. There has to be a point where we forge our own path.

This can look different depending on who you are. For example, who says you need to go back to university? Many people want to make more money. Several articles suggest going back to university to achieve this. This is just the opinion of a few people. That doesn’t mean if you choose to go down a different path, you won’t achieve anything. No. You can start a business. Create several income streams. Sell your mother’s cookies to your next-door neighbors. Home sit pets. The list goes on. They are so many things you can do.

We remain in a box when we don’t see the opportunities waiting for us. There’s so much you can do. You just have to go outside and see what you can achieve. Forge your own path. This is how you won’t feel left behind. Don’t look at other peoples’ success as the only way you can become successful. You just need to push yourself and you will find so many opportunities. Unbelievable opportunities you never thought you would ever achieve. It will takes time. But if you don’t give up. You would be shocked at all things you can achieve.

Why do you feel left behind in life? Loved to know. Comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa