Easier said than done perhaps, but true nonetheless. The words are from the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith (an awesome guy btw). They are powerfull words with a lot of meaning, but they don't mean shit unless you remind yourself of them everyday and incorporate them in to your mentality. Having that mindset can take you a long way, but it's hard if you've been told otherwise. Personally I have to remind my self all the time, or else I start to make excuses or try to rationalize my fears so that I can avoid doing whatever it is that I want to do. Of course this has nothing to do with trivial tasks such as getting the milk from the fridge because your thirsty, I'm talking about things that are challenging and that seem unattainable or where the eventual result is uncertain and in the future. This mindset – it's more of a mind set or mentality than a fancy quote – is extremely important and is what sets a part the winners from the losers, the achievers from the failures. You might think that it's an egocentric mindset, that it means you don't care about others, but I think it's the opposite. When people follow their dreams or purpose (which is a topic I will cover later on) they are happier and more productive members of society, they give more to people and thus enrich not only their own lives but the lives of everyone around them.
Let's take a small step back; what does it mean to "get what you want"? I think it has a lot to do with trumping your fears and challenging yourself to get where you want to go. It has to do with getting out of your comfort zone and braking the status-quo. 'Cause let's face it, the reason you aren't doing what you really want to do and being where you want to be has nothing or little to do with your current situation in life but more with how you perceive yourself and the excuses you make for not doing what you want.
It is a known fact the the fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain, which is why we'd rather choose to stay put than to take a risk and move forward. You might be OK with where you are right now, but you know that you want more and yet you settle for less because it let's you "stay put", stay in your comfort zone. This is where the "go get it" mentality becomes important, it's where you remind yourself that you can do better and take action to move in the direction you want to. This is also the hard part because you have to leave the comfort zone where you feel safe and content, but unfulfilled. Which is the challenge that I mentioned above.
So whenever you start doubting and making excuses, remind yourself of what you want – and go get it! It's that simple.
On that note, I'll wrap this blog post up. I thought that the above topic was quite fitting as a first post. I actually registered this blog a couple of days ago, and I've been thinking about doing it for many days before that, but haven't. I've been procrastinating, telling myself that I'll do it later (whenever that is?). But now I finally stopped making excuses and just sat down and started writing – at midnight. I can tell you that I've been very uncertain about this blog thing, I'm not sure about what to write, not sure whether anyone will read it and more importantly, enjoy it. But hey, better late then never right?! Anyhow, there's an example of taking charge and doing what you want.
Finally, here's a question for you: Do you agree with the statement, or do you think it's a load of crap?
Please get back to me with your thoughts and feedback.
And go get what you want!
- Philip