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A regular day at work-
Filled with errors, missed deadlines and delayed decisions.
How to prioritise one over another?

If our work has errors, it might as well be delayed.
Accuracy is more important than someone else investing their time in correcting our errors.
However, speed is vital in decision-making.
While it cannot come at the expense of accuracy, it always helps to ship instead of waiting for perfection.

Accuracy >> Speed >> Perfection

On my first day at the gym, I started with lifting weights.
It was really painful.
I closed my eyes, trying to gather all the possible energy within me when my trainer instructed, “No matter how much the weight is, don’t ever close your eyes.”

Soon after, I felt I was about to faint. I looked down on the floor, shouting to release the pain.
My trainer shouted back, “When in pain, don’t ever look down. Always look ahead”.

It was only after years of working out that I realized he was not talking about working out, he was talking about life. 

It may get painful. It may get difficult.
We can either choose to close our eyes, look down and avoid. Or we can choose to keep looking ahead.
Facing it is the ultimate win, irrespective of the outcome.

Choice 1 – Nothing matters. Whatever good or bad I do, the world still remains the same.
So, I choose not to care.

Choice 2 – Everything matters. My every step, big or small, makes a difference. And every difference I make, I feel a sense of pride.
Even if it means occasional discomfort, I choose to be responsible. 

Choice 3 – Nothing matters, unless I can get others to make similar choices for better.
I choose to build communities where everyone comes together to make a difference.

Choice 4 – No matter how much we try, the larger world behaves the same.
People don’t change unless the entire landscape is changed.
Everything and everyone matters, so I choose to design the new way!

Choice 1 is that of an Observer.
Choice 2 is of a Doer.
Choice 3 is of a Leader.
Choice 4 is of an Inventor.

Read again :)

We might come across someone who is mediocre at engineering but is an effective public speaker.
Someone who is mediocre at public speaking, but is an engaging content writer.
Someone who is mediocre at content writing but is an exceptional content editor.

People aren’t mediocre.
They only appear to be so in certain circumstances.
It’s often about the right person being at a not-so-right place.

Mediocrity is not an absolute. 
Someone who may appear mediocre in one world, might be a winner in another.

It’s unfair to compare our progress with someone who is just starting out, and feel good about ourselves.
Just like it is unfair to compare ourselves with someone who has been at it longer than us, and feel bad about ourselves.

Different durations. Different people. Different destinations.
Then why the same place of comparison?

Why not compare ourselves with who we were yesterday?
It’s fair, we know the one being compared to really well, and the best part, we can make any change we want to! 

It’s not about who we are today.
It’s about who we will be tomorrow, from who we were yesterday.

There are 3 things that can help us gain confidence.

1. Seeking feedback from people who genuinely want us to progress.
2. Measuring progress because that helps us see ourselves moving forward.
3. Knowing ourselves.
   Knowing if we are the best.
   And knowing that if we are not, we will do everything in our capacity to become the best.

To get confident, we need something to be confident about.
It doesn’t need to be our strengths only. It can very well be our progress.

We could think of a thousand reasons for why we could fail.
But, trust that one reason why we would succeed.

Giving up is the worst thing we can do to ourselves. It’s also the easiest.
What’s not easy is to keep going.

If we gave our best shot and it did not work out, it was not the best.
Our best shot is when we win.

IQ, aka how smart you are, once used to be the biggest determinant of success.
Then came the EQ. Empathizing with people made us better leaders and effective communicators.

The world evolved and everything around us is now designed to attract our attention.
Thus, making it priceless for the ability to devote our 100% attention without being distracted. 

It’s not the IQ; it’s not the EQ; it’s not their combination either.
The ability to focus is the most significant determinant of success.

Each time we say no to someone, we think we are saying no to our capability of helping.
We think we are saying no to our ability to solve problems.

The reality, however, is that we are saying no to someone else because we want to be respectful of what’s important for us.

Each time we say no, we say yes to things that matter.

There is always a reason behind how we feel.
If the reason for that feeling is someone else, why blame ourselves?
It will pass.
If we are the reason, why blame someone else?
It’s time to fix it.
The key is to find the source.

Our feelings are self-imposed. If we can create them, we can end them too.