What Matters The Most: The Honest Truth

 What matters the most: the honest truth

We live in a crazy world. Everything is moving so fast. Everyone seems to be in competition with what they do not even know or understand. Everyone is striving for greatness. Everyone wants to be in the limelight. Everyone is waiting to see what is the next biggest thing that makes the headlines. And yeah, we all want to be there. But wait. What matters the most? Is that all that is important? 

In the world today, everyone wants to feel important. Every musician wants to have a hit song. Every team wants to win the world cup or some champions leagues or something of that sort. Parents are expecting their wards to be the best graduating student. Everyone is seeking to be at the top. So many people feel the pressure of trying to do things they are not, or trying to portray to be something else. People put out wrong figures to assume a certain public image. But the real question is, is that really what is important?

Let us get into it!

What is the most important thing? Is it the fame, the money, the social media audience or attention? The most important thing, I believe is being honest with yourself.

Now, to some extent, everyone is trying to look bigger than they are, more important than they are, more beautiful and many more. But this culture of living in a fantasy world is not communicating the right information to the younger generation. People tend to feel down about themselves, wallow in self-pity and settle for mediocrity. Some even go to the extent of getting depressed, doing drugs and at worse, committing suicide. Just because they feel left out of the whole life “game”. 

Truth be told, the most important thing is being honest with yourself. That’s the starting point to every journey of success. Of course, people build wealth, fame, etc., out of dubious means. But real success starts from being honest with yourself. Many of the people we see out there are living double lives. They come out and show you the bright side of life, whereas, in reality, they live in the down side. And this culture is killing dreams and potentials. Pushing people to search for shortcuts. I am not denying the fact that, there are some great people who worked hard for what they have. No. What I am saying is that, ignore the pressure. Focus on yourself and what you have. 

Now let’s come to the real deal. And that’s you. 

Who are you, what do you have, what makes you unique? No, forget about others. Let’s focus on you. What is it about you that can make a change? Many a time we miss it. Everybody expects that the talents or unique abilities that can make all the difference and put us at the top of the world has to be something extraordinary and out of the blue. Well, yes, sometimes it is. But more often than not, it is something very average. The success story of many great people reveals this truth. Talk of Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan and the likes; they were not necessarily born special. They created their own path out of the average to being above average. 

It is good to look up to people and be inspired by them. One mistake many people make, however, is wrong comparison. You cannot just watch someone and try to live their lives. It does work sometimes, but many a time ends up failing. Everyone lives on a different path and is at a different stage in life. So yes, learn from them, but do not compare yourself with them.

What matters the most is what you do with your average self. Identify what you want to do; your passion, and do it. I think it is high time we stop pushing kids to become doctors and engineers. The world is changing faster than we probably have noticed. Today, we have social media influencers. Few years ago, we did not even have social media. You have something within you. It probably is average. But it is capable of growth. All the role models we look up to did this. They nurtured the average ability until it became worth sharing with the world. 

The mistake with rushing ahead of yourself is the pressure of staying relevant. It is difficult to maintain a fake life. This pressure results in one lie after another, until it results in stress and depression. 

There is a whole huge world out there. We live in a world of endless possibilities. The impact you can make in life is not tied to a profession or an activity. It is based on you. It depends on what you deem as the most important thing in your life. Whether it be being the best version of yourself, by telling yourself the truth about yourself and working hard to transform your average self into something extraordinary, or telling yourself lies about yourself and living one lie after another to cover it up. The best part is that, you don’t need to become exceptional at what you want to do before you start. You need to start right where you are, invest in yourself by learning, unlearning and relearning. 

There is no limit to what you can become. Just know what is most important, and staying honest with yourself as you work your way to the top of your game.

Name: Isaac Game Mawulorm 

Email: imawulorm@gmail.com