Scared of being Great?
Written on Friday, February 17, 2006 by Rohan Koshy
I usually read a lot of books so my viewpoints are always a little muddled having had so many influences...from osho to bill gates and Gandhi to jack welch i've swung from one side to another so my views almost never gel with many of my freinds....but recently i've started to notice one common thing in many of my friends and even strangers that i meet.....The fear of being great...
Put simply the fear of being great is usually the biggest fear in person...Now you probably think i'm nuts anyways so...why would a person fear being great....well beacause they dont know that they fear is in them....
What's the one thing society tells you to do....Conform.....You should be like everyone else kid....do what they're doing because they know what's right...get the best grades,be the best behaved,dont irritate or criticize,and never stand out the crowd unless your asked to....this i'm starting to realise is the biggest problem we face...from the day you are born you are told and shown how the world works and how your expected to follow "tradition".....
It is said that the fear of public speaking in people is greater than the fear of DEATH....and i've seen it too....people are terrified of going on stage and saying something....Why? because they'll get criticized and teased if they say something the herd doesnt agree too...or they'll get laughed at if they say nothing...
I have no problems with the crowd...i have problems with the people who should go on stage and speak....they wont take that chance because they fear being ridicluled...but they dont see that they could get applauded for what they say...it's the fear of being great...
I'm not good enough for the IIT's or the IIM's....this i hear constantly...It's for the nerds...Being good enough is not the issue...it's the fear of standing out ,of being different that's the issue....we fear being different because the whole world is meant for conformity...
This conformity is also seen in school...apparently the Einsteins and the David beckhams and the Bryan adams of the world are graded on the same system and supposed to do equally well at Physics?????
Unfortunately this fear is most in the spotlight in public speaking.
People often play the game not to lose...play it safe and you'll play another day...most never play to win...
On a lighter note....i see it before a proposal too...well..."dude what if she says no"?...to which i answer:-"Well what if she says yes?"....youre afraid of losin so u wont take the chance to win,the chance to be great....
On an even lighter note...i go on to explain that the chances of a yes are 50-50..those odds are better than any bet at any table at any casino in the world...basically u couldnt have a better chance!!!!...hehehe......
Fortunately for me,i've learned this early and in the hard way...I've been called.....stupid,immature,childish,ugly,fat,crazy,cunning,dark-skinned,short,blind,cute,funny,nice and everythin in between..so i've learned never to take any of it seriously....so ive never feared standing out..which i do anyways...
radical!