Convincing Ourselves

Everyone grows up admiring someone. We may admire our father. He seems strong and powerful yet loving. We may admire our teachers in school, who seem to know the answer to everything, we may even admire a cartoon character that we can relate to. Whatever the case, we all admire people and often aspire to be like them. Even though many believe that having role models means we may be 'fan boyish', 'unoriginal' or 'hero worshiping', I believe role models have a huge role to play in helping us becoming our potential and for many having a role model can be life changing. Showing Purpose: One way in which role models can help us is by showing us a purpose in life. As a young kid myself, I was very much inspired by Edison and wanted to be an inventor myself. This never  materialized ofcourse but it set me on to a path where I was curious to discover new things and without a doubt made up who I am today. Even though I did not know Edison, whatever I read about hi...

Perfectionism is great, but when it becomes an obsession it can ruin your life.I have an obsessive personality and I get phases of perfectionism that transform into something similar to OCD and they ruin me. I burn out while studying, I burn out while exercising, hell I even burn out at work. Perfection is bad but there is more to it than just that. The Good kind: Perfectionism, the need to be perfect, the need to be better every time, the need to out do oneself is great. Its the engine of human and societal growth. This passion to be better and be right and grow, has taken the world from the stone ages to today. It is this perfectionism that has provided passion to artists, scientists, businessmen to do great things. It is this perfectionism that has made a mother great at parenting or a coach help their student. Perfectionism in and of itself is definitely great! The Bad kind: However perfectionism, the need to be perfect, every single time, to be better than before, to push ...

One of the most prominent problems in society today is that we feel we need more. If you are a businessman, you need to grow the business. If you are an athlete, you need to win the biggest prize, if you are a student, you have to be the best. This is a result of the hyper-competitive, individualistic, achievement oriented civilization that we have become. There is nothing wrong with that in itself.  The system has given us great athletes, scientific breakthroughs, wonderful companies that have gone on to make our lives better, medication that has saved lives and world leaders that aspire to work for the greater good. However it has also created a society that is forever looking for the next big thing. The next technique, the next product, the next investment, the next goal, the next prize. For sure this is what human beings and the growth mindset is, but does it really make us happy? To be happy, we need to convince ourselves that we are great, lovable and worth indiv...