Written by Discovering Your Greatness Is Not a Comfortable Task
Here is an example of the difference between striving for greatness and being comfortable with mediocrity. When the alarm clock sounds, what is your reaction? Do you hit snooze and lie back down, or do you get up groggy and tired, but rise anyway? That answer determines the desire for greatness or the complicity for mediocrity.
The choice lets you know where you stand. Comfort and the desire for greatness are not in the same equation. I’m paraphrasing what Steve Harvey said: “Greatness means learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” The reason many do not find their greatness is that it is hard. A quote that appears to be attributed to Albert Einstein says, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” We are all great at something, but finding what it is and going through the challenges it takes to become great at it is painstakingly difficult.
How to Discover Your Greatness?
Trial and error are what you must go through to discover what you are great at becoming. Then the practice and repetition it takes to hone those abilities are the next steps. It’s the boring, mundane, tedious, even painful, and monotonous activity that produces results. People like Michael Jordan had to sacrifice time, relationships, and personal feelings. He had to battle self-disbelief to transform these feelings into a belief that he had what it takes to be the best.
How far will you go to discover greatness? It takes fully embracing the uncomfortable. Learning to see it as a rite of passage to growth opportunities versus impediments to progress. It sucks, but you must fall in love with challenges and see them as steps that will get you to the greatness you seek. The road to greatness is paved in failed attempts.
Motivational speaker Les Brown said, “You will fail your way to success.” That statement, as hard as it is to digest, is true. Each failed attempt that is tried again translates into knowledge and wisdom. We have been taught to believe that failing means we are not destined for our greatness. Many choose to believe society’s view of failure and allow it to justify giving up.
So many people have been on the cusp of greatness but allowed something to derail them. A failed attempt, a bad break, someone else’s misdeeds, or their own negative inner critic has convinced them that letting go of their pursuit and potential purpose was a better choice than continuing to move forward. Stopping is the only true form of failure. You are guaranteed to never see your goal if you quit.
Progress in the face of challenges is hard. It is why many do not meet the person they were destined to be. Humans have been led to believe that greatness is supposed to come easily. That is far from the case, because if it were easy, you may not appreciate it when you obtain it.
Low Bar Setting
Another Les Brown quote, since I am on a Les Brown motivational kick, he also said, “Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.” We allow mediocre and even fully tangible goals to equal greatness. Because we successfully reached attainable goals, we conflate it with success. This philosophy is another reason why some stay satisfied with being at a certain level.
They may have achieved a goal, but instead of pursuing a higher one. They did as was said in the bible, “They pitched their tents in Lo-Debar.” In a metaphorical sense, it means to settle in a place that is not conducive to growth. Stagnation is equivalent to “Pitching your tent in Lo-Debar.” You may have achieved a certain level or status, but you know you can go farther. Some have been led to believe that the quest for more is equivalent to greed. That is only true when you decide to hoard your acquisitions.
To Give You Must Get
Don’t confuse giving with giving away. Giving allows others to reach their goals. Lending a helping hand is what we should do. Giving away, on the other hand, is giving something to someone or something that is unworthy of your gifts. Whether it’s money, time, or property, if people you’re giving to are only seeking to gain from you, you must evaluate your kindness.
Giving to the wrong person or thing quickly morphs into weakness. Do not let others take your kindness for weakness. If their hands are constantly outstretched and they are not making progress through your gift, then cutting them off is your best solution. They will say you are mean and will attempt to berate you to get more, but understand that it is a part of the mistake of giving away your gift. Anyone who is not grateful for what you have already given is seeking to use you, and they see your acts of kindness as weakness. Get away from those people. They are looking to take your kindness for weakness.
Don’t Get Comfortable
Comfort zones are dangerous. It is the zone of stagnation. When you are comfortable, there is no desire to progress. Happiness should not be dictated by comfort levels. Being happy is a state of mind, not based on a state of having.
Do not confuse the two. Many have become frustrated when they see that someone else has more. Don’t be upset at another person’s progress; instead, be happy for them and find out what they did. Work on getting to that level. Your comfort should not be based on your desire to have someone else’s achievement.
Understand that they are where they are for whatever reason; they are there. They could have obtained it differently from you, but to concentrate on that takes away from your ability to make things happen for yourself. Greatness is achieved through discipline.
To Become Great at Anything Takes Discipline
You cannot wake up and believe that you can be great at something without dedicating time to constantly work on improving. That takes hours, days, months, years, and maybe even decades. It took Morgan Freeman years to become an iconic film legend. He acted as a child but did not land a major role until he was in his 50s. Staying dedicated through the long haul is what being disciplined is about.
Refusing to quit and finding pleasure in the challenges is what will transform novelty into greatness. Do not believe that success will come overnight. The comedian and actor Kevin Hart said, “It took me 20 years to become an overnight success.” Belief, faith, and discipline are the key ingredients needed to obtain greatness on any level. Your greatness does not have to be in the arenas of fame and fortune.
You can strive to be the greatest mother or father you can be to your kids; you can strive to be the best teacher you can be to your students, but it takes dedication and discipline to achieve that level of greatness. Find your passion and work as hard as you can to become the best at it.
Find What You Love to Do and Transform it Into Your Greatness
We are all good at something. We were placed on this Earth through almost impossible odds, so never believe that you were not born to be great at something. Martin Luther King said this, “If you are a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Beethoven composed music, or like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera.” He was saying to put your best effort into whatever you do.
It is better to fail at attempting success than to never attempt it at all. Never attempting becomes a regret of the dying. When you attempt to do it, you know that you gave your all. The discipline it takes to put in your best efforts day in and day out is a reason that some will not succeed.
Obtaining Maximum Results from Minimal Effort
The saying “Work smarter, not harder comes to mind.” What people must understand is that it is a combination of the two principals that leads one to achieve greatness. That combination takes concerted effort and abject discipline. You must work hard to become smart, and then you must apply that intelligence to whatever you believe your greatness to be.
In the process, you must fall in love with the combination of learning to become smarter and working hard to become smarter. As I mentioned, you must fall in love with being uncomfortable. It is the only way to find your greatness. It is the path you must go down. Don’t be afraid to travel down that road. It may be dark at some points, but it is also where your greatness can be found.
When you dare to go where others will not dare tread, you are distancing yourself from the crowd. Greatness is normally found where others would not travel. That’s why so many fail to find it. They are scared to go where you are willing to venture. Stay moving. You deserve to discover your greatness. We all should, but few are willing to navigate an unfamiliar path. Do not be one of those people. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to find what belongs to you.