What separates good from great?
It’s one of those simple questions that get thrown around a lot and no one really has a clear answer to.
You’ll always hear a quote from someone who is accomplished, a sports figure, a big entrepreneur, even a religious figure. And although it’s great to get reassurance from someone who is already “considered to be great” — what’s really stopping people from accomplishing their goals is themselves.
In this article, I really just want to point out something that’s obvious and not a lot of people understand. That is…people are holding themselves back from being great, sometimes they can be at the cusp of success and greatness, but they give up on themselves to choose and find happiness in being good. I, myself, am also guilty of this. Not that I don’t understand but that I don’t really do that what I think I understand.
However, that’s understandable per se because everybody has a different meaning of success and greatness.
Not everybody can be an Ali, a Steve Jobs, a Gandhi, an Einstein, but they can be the greatest person they can be and perform to the best of their abilities.
The obvious problem is that people often get trapped by Dogma. And by definition: Dogma is basically the set of beliefs (or rules) set by some higher authoritative figure that the masses tend to follow.
Now, I’m not asking for you to start and anarchist movement, what I am saying is to think for yourselves.
Break the mold, but at the same time play by society’s rules. Become adaptable but always stay true to your beliefs.
Whatever you feel is the right thing to do, just go with it and ride it out. If you fail, the worst thing that happened is you tried. Just make sure you’re doing it for you. As the proverbial question inquires: Would you rather fail at something that you’re great at or do good at something that you don’t like? Because the fact of the matter is that you will never know if you’re great at something unless you try.
So if you’re striving to be great at something and you’re unsure, I would definitely recommend trying — even if it’s one time! Worst case, you’ll gain a lot of experience and, at the end of the day, never have to ask yourself the regretful, “What if?”
Never forget that life isn’t supposed to be a “straight line,” you are going to have a lot of highs and just as many lows. Further, the lows that you’ll face when reaching your goals may seem bad at the time, yet always bear this in mind: “diamonds don’t exist without pressure.”
Sometimes your mindset will be the biggest factor coming into play and it’s up to you to be headstrong and make sure that nothing can stop you from reaching a goal and building your own legacy.
For all we know, life isn’t a rehearsal and you sure as hell aren’t going to get a second chance. Be that as it may, always ask yourself: Why not?
Why not you? Why can’t you be great? And if/when you think you’re already great, why can’t you be even greater?
P.S.: If you have thoughts about this article, I’ll be happy to read them in the comments below 🙂
Photo credits: Google photos
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