By consensus, it is agreed that this generation is facing multifarious internal turmoils. We are constantly stressed out about several things, ranging from work to personal life. Emotional stability and unavailability are hard to find, and the fear of committing looms more ominously than ever before.
And when I mention commitment issues, I don’t necessarily mean romantic relationships or interpersonal dynamics. Let us talk about academics, or careers, for the time being. We also fail to commit to our dreams and aspirations. We are constantly second-guessing everything that we are intending to do with our lives, whether it is interviewing for that dream job, or quitting the office that offers nothing except for a fake sense of stability. A job that does not push us along in the path of self-actualization, does not offer any chances of growth, or even a decent salary, and stresses one out beyond what is strictly necessary, is simply not worth continuing with and we may be very well aware of that. But we will still cling to any little semblance of permanence that just being a part of an organization gives us, and trudge on with the monotony of daily life in an office that barely gives us anything to feel about.
And that, essentially, is the problem. Why is it so hard for us to identify what we want? Why is it so difficult for us to take the plunge for something that we know will bring us success and happiness? Why do we find it so tough to dissociate ourselves from the false idea of security and stability for something greater? It almost seems as though we are so completely immersed in negativity and confusion that we have almost forgotten what it feels like to take a step back or take some time off for ourselves, to gauge what we want and stick by a decision firmly.
From my limited understanding of the human mind, the key to the resolution of these internal conflicts lies in how well we understand ourselves, or how comprehensive our ideas of success and happiness are. Introspection has a big role to play in this because unless we take some time to look within and improve our relationship with ourselves, we will continue to second guess everything that we do, and suffer from endless personal dilemmas that will lead us to ultimately blaming ourselves and sinking to the depths of despair whenever the slightest thing goes a little off track.
It is necessary to identify that certain things are beyond our control, and the best decision we can ever take is to follow our dreams, with a full understanding of the consequences that will ensue. Say, for example, you do yourself a great service by quitting the current job you were stuck at, to invest time and energy into your startup~ the economic distress or the risk factor that will be involved will not be your fault. They will just be a consequence of the decision you took as a favor to yourself. And does that periodic financial insecurity or the momentary risk mean that you took the wrong decision? No! It just means that you chose to step out of your comfort zone, which is pretty amazing!
All that we need to do is change the way we look at life. We have to look inside to understand what we want, and then go for it, despite all the scary stories and the prospect of failure. Failures are only proof that you tried to do something on your own, and that, in itself, is glorious! Pull up your socks and be your own biggest motivation, because after all, yourself is all you have!
