Don’t Be a Hero, Be a Zero
Sometimes, you need to go beneath the surface.
Wait, Why would I want to be a Zero? Isn’t being a hero the concept that our modern society is in love with?
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Spiderman, Batman, these are all guys we look up to and want to be like. Shouldn’t I be like them?
No, Let me repeat that NO!
The Oxford Dictionary defines a hero as:
“A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”
Admired being a critical concept here. To be clear this article is not talking about those people who are admired, gracefully accept it and keep on elevating themselves to the next level.
I am talking about the large majority of us, myself included, who on multiple occasions keep celebrating the same old win.
Why Is That Dangerous?
Last night The Ascent was kind enough to publish one of my drafts (for which I am immensely grateful)
At that point, I have 2 choices:
(a) I can get stuck up, feel no need to improve and tom-tom myself and my accomplishment.
(b) I can thank them, God and life for this amazing opportunity and continue to keep improving and challenging myself.
Here is the exact thought process that was going through my mind at that moment:
“Dude this is so awesome, I mean look at all the views that I am going to have. My life is made.”
The next second I thought:
“Hold up, while this is incredible I still got 0 views on my last 8 articles. Clearly, Something is working out but I still have to keep on improving every single day.”
Don’t take this from me. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the 2nd highest paid movie star in 2018 who raked in a cool 124 million dollars, in one of his speeches said:
“What motivates me is not remembering the good times, it’s remembering the bad. Every day I think about the struggles and pain I faced. Every single day, I have my back towards the wall. Only one way to go, Forward.”
This is where Be a Zero comes in. Zero here doesn’t mean that you are less talented, gifted or hardworking. On the contrary, it means that you have the practical wisdom to acknowledge the opportunities you have, not just on platforms like Medium, but anywhere in the world, with one key thought process factored in:
“Remembering the hard times and starting every day as if it was your very first. Still wanting to prove yourself and still eager to learn whatever comes your way”
Be a Zero is about hitting the reset button on your accomplishments yet being cognizant of the growth you have encountered and the additional rungs up the ladder of life that are staring you in the face.
Carol Dweck in her fantastic book ‘Mindset’ tells of an incident where two groups of kids were praised for their achievements. One group was made to feel that they were special, the other group was praised but more emphasis was put on the growth and learning they had gained due to their efforts. Surprisingly, in future performance, the ones who were told they were special lowered their efforts and fell out of the game.
As long as you don’t blur your vision with your current achievements, you will always be able to see the ones on the horizon.
I know this is easier said than done, but what if a profession actively employed this philosophy and made millions using it?
That profession- Day trading. If a trader thinks about the successful trade he just made, it becomes a little difficult to make the next one objectively and the next and so on. That subtle change in mindset means a not so subtle change in his bank account.
For me personally, I just love this approach and was so happy and joyful to share it with all of you, because of 1 key reason:
It makes me feel alive
A mountain-climber always wants to climb the next peak and then the next. He never goes to bed saying that’s it, I’m done, I climbed Mount Everest. Similarly, always wake up thinking that you have the opportunity to climb new mountain peaks every single day.
This mindset shift can be utilized by anybody for their growth and benefit. It’s time tested and guess what- it works!
In Conclusion, I’d like to leave you with this thought to ponder:
“If you want to be a champion, always remember, good enough is never good enough”
I would love to hear your stories, thoughts or connect with like-minded souls. Till next time, Zero Out!
