Believe it or not, I get asked almost every week when my next “rant” will be. I find that pretty funny, because they sure as hell aren’t planned. I’m not a monkey who dances on command. I can only rant when I feel like ranting. But, yeah, it’s that time again. This week, I’m once again lucky enough to be playing a fun role on a popular TV series. It’s always a true pleasure. I really mean that. But while most people would be happy just to be there, I can’t help but feel something else when I look around. Maybe it’s the curse of being observant or maybe I’m just a jerk. I don’t know. I listen to some conversations around me on the set and start to feel ranty. Much like when I hear my peers in real estate talking. And none of this compares to the feelings I get reading blogs and message boards full of all types. The frustration builds up and I have no choice but to “rant.” So here we go. Let’s call this one…
Why You Will Never Be Great
By: MileNerd
- Fear. You may disguise fear with arrogance. Or, more cleverly, by overscheduling your days. But when we get to the root of it, you’re scared. Even with age and experience, your insecurities haven’t gone away. In fact, they’ve become a way of life. You want credit. You want more praise. You wish people would see you as special. But the world never sees it. And it’s all your fault. Sorry to tell you this, but you’d much rather fit in than stand out. You’ve never let the world see what was special about you. You were too busy hiding. Fear owns you. And that, my friends, is no way to be great.
- You are a child. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve lived. You are not a grownup in the ways that matter. A nonsensical merry-go-round of insecurity has circled through your head since grade school. That is still the defining identity in your life. It’s the voice of an unhappy child and it limits everything you do. It causes daily pain to you and everyone you care about. Don’t think this makes you sensitive. All it means is that you are one of millions who are wasting their precious time.
- You lack gratitude. In the land of greatness, a very common trait is gratitude. The feeling of being fortunate beyond belief. This creates happiness and boundless energy, which leads to amazing achievements. On the other hand, you spend your life keeping score. Feeling less than some and better than others is your full-time job. In the world of bloggers, people will actually feel good/bad based on how many readers they have! People actually base self-esteem on Twitter followers! In my jobs, people will literally feel better or worse about themselves based on TV appearances or escrows closed! Ridiculous, right? But you really shouldn’t laugh at their insecurities. You’ve got more than enough to fill a room. Never able to quiet your ridiculous thoughts, you grasp on to any flimsy branch you can. You try to find any trait that you can feel good about. None of it really works. So you wallow in what people should have done to treat you better, spending most of your life in a state of anti-gratitude. While you wallow in anger and self-pity, the days keep ticking away…
- Selfishness. You are a selfish person. I know you don’t like hearing those words, but ironically, you don’t even know what they mean. Listen, if you’re not the center of your own life, you have some SERIOUS problems. You have to make yourself happy. It is your main responsibility in this world – The pursuit of happiness. Only then can you give anything to anyone else. But you’re not happy. You are somewhere between “blah” and “miserable.” Instead of giving a happy person to the world, you put out a small, petty version of what you could have been. Newsflash…this doesn’t make you a martyr…it just makes you immature. You need to look beautiful…or make a lot of money…or drive a nice car…or keep track of how much you “do” for others. No matter what it is, you’re frantically trying to prove your worth. You can’t really pour yourself into anything because you’re too busy “proving” something. It’s always about you. Your selfishness is not a recipe for greatness.
- Laziness. Stop defending yourself for a second. Be honest, as the “adult” you supposedly are. Nobody is doing anything to you anymore. You are living the life you chose. Right now, you are thinking the thoughts you choose. If you want to hold on to them, go ahead. But why not try harder? Why not be a better version? You could have been a great one. Isn’t it worth seeing if you still could be? Choose to be comfortable in your own skin. Choose to try your best. Nobody has ever been lazy and great. Plenty of people have been lazy and mediocre.
(Disclaimer: I never claimed to be great. Just relatively honest and observant).
MileNerd out.
