This, unfortunately is not reality, at least not many people's reality. There are many ambitious and talented people out there who are stuck, for a plethora of reasons. In this day and age, skillset is a main sticking point. Time another. Without going into to much personal detail I can vouch for both of these. I don't really see it as a "victim" mindset either, that entails it's someone's fault. Someone screwed you over. I don't think that at all. While there were events sometimes involving others I don't think for a second they did it on purpose.
To quote a notable Jedi, "Your
focus determines your reality." If you focus on the negative, your reality is negative. If you focus on what holds you back, it will continue to hamper your progress. If you focus on potential, hope will endure. I'm not one for spouting a bunch of new-age-hippy drivel, but
this I have experienced first hand.
Too many times I see people boo-hooing because their situation sucks because they made bad choices. Mainly "I dicked around and quit high school, now I can't find a job that pays diddly." Well, I see 2 options: you pull yourself out of the muck, work harder and
learn new skills, and move up in the world; or you stay where you are and bellyache about how "life" gave you a raw deal. In either situation, the individual has made a choice: grow or stagnate, but they have chosen it.
As a creature of severe habit, I understand that stepping out into the unknown is scary and often uncomfortable, even if the end results are a better situation. Familiarity is a powerful sedative that many are addicted to.
Now yes, there are some times when we are faced with situations we actually didn't choose. But then those offer us new choices. Do we let circumstance bitch slap us and keep us down, or do we rise up and kick it in the balls?
My God... SERIOUSLY, man. It's like we were separated at birth.
Are we two sides of the same double headed coin?
Always expect the worst. Then you can only be pleasantly surprised.
The bright side to pessimism?
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
Love this.
Forgive me for seemingly being a "downer" but there are so many "inspirational" quotes out there, and I can pick every one of them apart. Don't get me wrong, if they help you; that's great. I will never sneer at someone who finds merit in these words. But for me, they are hollow. Here is how I see the world. We're all playing Poker. Sometimes you get a good hand but sometimes you get a bad hand and are forced to fold. But that's ok, it sucks but you still have enough chips to play again and maybe you win a few hands and get a few more chips. But there are those players who never win. Either they just played poorly or they played as good as they knew how, but it wasn't enough. Now they are sitting at the table with very few to no chips to play anymore. So, they are stuck. It happens...a lot. I'll leave it at that. I apologize if I've appeared overly negative, I've just gotten to the point where I would rather admit the Ugly Truth than believe a Beautiful Lie. Again, this is just my views. G'night everyone.
You're close with the poker analogy, but you forgot the one fundamental truth about poker: It has less to do with how you play the cards you're dealt, and more to do with how you play the other players. I'm not suggesting that you live dishonestly and cheat, but winning is a mentality. If I am truly happy with my mediocre job, and the small fun times that I get, and that nothing ever really upsets my routine, how am I doing worse than someone that has untold millions, and the media in their face 24/7, and drug/alcohol problems?
I keep saying it: There is NO cookie-cutter recipe for success in life. Just like there is more than one way to win at poker. I loved Maverick's method in the movie: he lost for the first hour he played. This allowed him to focus on his opponents tells of good hands or bluffs. He took the lumps long enough to
learn. Then he utilized the knowledge he acquired to beat the $#!% out of everyone at the table.
One might say success is a process, not an end result.