Are you feeling left behind. forge your own path.

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.

Also Related: How to Fear Yourself of Social Expectations?

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. 

Also Related: How To Stop Chasing The Fake Image of Success?

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

Many of us don’t understand the difference between being busy and productive. Because of that, we glorify busy and, in the end, that sabotages our goals. It sounds weird, but it happens to many people. Going into the new year, you need to understand the difference and how you can achieve your goals. You might have a lengthy bucket list of things you want to do in the new year. That’s great, but you also need to realize that your time is precious. If you want this year to be better than the previous year, then your habits need to change.

I struggled for the longest time with my goals. I did not know the difference between being busy and productive. What I soon realized is as a society we glorify busy. This doesn’t help us with our goals. Why? Because often we are doing everything else than what we are required to do. We focus on acting as if we are achieving something, but we aren’t. This is because we spend our time on time wasters and not on things that will push the needle forward. They are a few ways you can stop glorifying busy and sabotaging your goals. I will go through the list so that you understand if you stop this, then you are on your way to being more productive. 

One thing you need to realize is it will take time to get to where you want to go. That’s alright. You don’t need to rush. Sometimes it’s alright to slow things down. Figure out what you want from life and go from there. You just need to keep that in mind. If you do, it will be easier on you and you won’t get crushed if things aren’t going as fast as you wish they would.  

Reduce time-wasters

What are time wasters? This is one way you are glorifying busy and sabotaging your goals. Time wasters are basically activities that don’t help you with your goals. Let’s look at an example: if you are starting a business and then you focus on making money from bitcoin. That, in fact, is a time waster. I know what the internet is saying. Bitcoins and NFTS are the new way to make money. It’s all hype and no substance. Let’s say you have little money. How much time will you dedicate to learning about bitcoin.

Let’s say you dedicate four hours per day. Now, this has nothing to do with the business you want to start. Yet, you are focusing on bitcoins. I get it. We all want to be in the in-crowd. The problem with this is that it isn’t easy. No one will tell you that making money from bitcoin and NFTS is difficult. You will need lots of money to make money from this. You will also need to hire a coach because it isn’t as easy to make money from it. And it’s saturated. Everyone and their grandmother want to make money from crypto currency.  

Chances that you will make money from it are slim, so you need to keep your options open. That means you must figure out what you should do next. Another thing that can be a time waster is spending way too much time on one activity that doesn’t count or add value. You shouldn’t spend two hours writing an email to your subscribers. If you are creating a site, then don’t think too much about it. The longer you take, the longer it will take you to accomplish your goals.

The above are examples of glorifying busy and this will sabotage your goals.

Increase income generating activities

Do you want to make more money than you should focus on increasing your income-generating activities? I learned about this phrase a few years ago. Many of us don’t focus enough on income-generating activities. We spend too much of our time glorifying busy and that sabotages our goals. Now, here’s the exact opposite of it. Focus on making money. Now, if you are just starting, that doesn’t mean you can’t make money.

Take advantage of the global market. It comes with its own problems. Sure, but it has benefits. Because of the global market, they are many opportunities out there that you might not have realized. These opportunities can open so many doors for you. So, what are income-generating activities? Okay. It has to be an activity that will produce income. Even if it isn’t today. It can be soon. Posting videos that will help your business grow or that are beneficial will help you generate income. Watching cat videos won’t. Writing emails to your subscribers weekly will help you produce income sharing Facebook videos won’t.

In the beginning, it will take time for you to figure out what an income generating activity is and what it isn’t. So it’s important that once you figure this out, you spend more of your time doing that. This will help you achieve your goals so much faster.

Also Related: 6 Income Generating Activities that Will Grow Your Business Quickly

Have a detailed goal list

The reason it’s so easy to glorify busy and sabotage our goals is because we don’t have a detailed goal list. For the new year, you need to understand what goals you want to achieve and which ones you don’t. Often you can break it down by quarter. Have different set goals for the first quarter than the second and it goes on. This will help you avoid burnout. Glorifying busy is easy, and it is easier to sabotage our goals by doing this. Therefore, it’s important to have a detailed goal list.

For example, what are your top three goals? What also helps is to have three goals for your personal, spiritual, and business. Why? Because if you aren’t growing you are dying. We focus way too much on our business goals that we forget we need to grow in other areas. If you grow in other areas, everything will link. You would be shocked to discover you’re progressing faster than you imagine because you aren’t focused primarily on one category.

This is how you stop glorifying busy and sabotaging your goals. By having a detailed goal list for your three categories. Here’s an example of your personal category learn a new language or travel more. Then, for your business goals, it can be to have 1000 followers and the list goes on from there. Whatever it is, you need to write it down or keep it in perspective. Why? Because you then realize why you are doing what you’re doing. This is an easy way to stop glorifying being busy so that you don’t sabotage your goals.

Passive income is the way to go

Here is another way you can stop glorifying being busy so you don’t sabotage your goals. One way to accomplish your goals at a faster rate is to make passive income. Why? Because you won’t have to worry about capital coming in to help grow your business. It will also help you achieve your goals much faster. Since they are limited hours in a day, you need to make money.

They are dozens of ways to make passive income. Some vary from beginner friendly to complicated. It’s best to start with the easy ways to make money and move from there. It all depends on what you will do and how you will achieve it. Passive income is one of the best ways to make money because you aren’t working for the money. You can do something and you will still make money. Few people can say they have achieved that. This will also make your time well spent. When you are making money, your perspective shifts and you calculate your time better. 

The above are a few examples of how you can stop glorifying busy and sabotaging your goals. 

Also Related: How to Turn Your Life Around in 12 Months

How will you stop glorifying busy and sabotaging your goals. Comment below.

                                                                                                 KEEP  PUSHING

                                                                                      VANESSA