I love how when we see other people’s stories, we make excuses for them about how easy it was.
What’s hilarious about this is that, for ourselves, we don’t look at the advantages– just the obstacles.
“Oh, but it was easy for him, because X, Y, and Z,” we say. “You and I don’t have those advantages anymore, though– it’s harder for us.”
For ourselves, it’s like “Oh but I can’t because,” and for others, it’s “That was easy for them because.”
Pretty hypocritical, right? (Unintentionally, of course.)
Reminds me of Hugh McLeod’s phrase, “Don’t compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.”
It doesn’t help that everything is mythologized from far away. We see only a fraction of someone’s life in their bio, or hear about it from others, or read it in the history books. We assume it was this perfect, instant moment of success. But it never was.
It’s usually a slow process, tons of perseverance, and lots of moments of quiet doubt. Yes, for everyone.
During those moments, many people quit. They say they aren’t cut out for this, or that the time isn’t right. But that isn’t the case at all. Just like courage– the conquering of fear– is often mistaken for its absence, success is more about persevering through doubt, over and over again.
“That just isn’t possible is this economic climate.”
“This is just too much work, for too long.”
“I can’t handle this, I just can’t do this anymore.”
But the truth is: Yes, you can.
They did. So can you.
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