7 Hard Truths About Why You’re Failing At Life
That’s right, I’m calling you out here. I’m looking you straight in the eyes (okay, maybe not literally since you’re probably half a world away reading this), and telling you that you’re failing. Not failing at getting into shape. Not failing at your job. But failing at life itself.
Of course, many people will stop reading right here and go back to watching cat videos. After all, the natural human response to uncomfortable truths is to avoid them entirely. But right here you have a choice. You can either go back to pretending that everything is fine, or you can man up (or woman up) and face the truth.
And if you can manage to stick it out all the way to the end, maybe you can even learn a thing or two. Now let’s have a look at why you’re currently failing at life.
1. Because you’ve settled for mediocrity
You’re failing because you’ve grown comfortable with mediocrity; because you’ve stopped trying your best, and have accepted being “good enough”.
Because, somewhere along the line, you just gave up and accepted a life far below your potential and expectations.
Because, instead of chasing your dreams, you took the easy way out; You settled for that boring, but safe job. You settled for the first girl to show up because you were afraid of being alone.
You settled for spending your entire life in the same corner of the world you were born, because traveling seemed too scary.
Because you’re terrified of sticking your neck out and actually trying to reach your dreams. Instead you chose the comfortable route of hiding within the safety of mediocrity.
2. Because you think you’re better than you actually are
You’re failing because you think you’re better than everyone else, and that there is no need to improve yourself. Because you think that you’re above all the problems and obstacles of the rest of the world.
Because you think that you are already the smartest; that you have no need to learn anything new.
Because you think you’re already perfect, and that you’re done with improving yourself and learning new skills. You think that just because you’re out of school, your learning days are over.
3. Because you’re terrified of responsibility
You’re failing because you hate the thought of having to take responsibility of your own life.
Because you blame anyone – or anything – else for your failures; it’s not your fault your career is dead, your boss just hates you. It’s not your fault your marriage is crumbling, your wife just doesn’t care. And it’s certainly not your fault you’re poor, the recession just hit you too hard!
Because you would much rather give up the power over your own life than be forced to take responsibility for it.
Because you’re terrified of confrontation; of someone calling you out on your failures, and forcing you to take responsibility for your own shortcomings.
4. Because you let others shape your life
You’re failing because you live your life the way others expect you to live. Because you’re always striving to achieve what you’re expected to achieve, and craving things you’re expected to crave.
Because you’ve always done what you were expected to do; you studied what you were expected to study, and you learned what you were expected to learn.
Because you conformed to their standards of success. You studied what they wanted you to study so you could pass their tests, and you adapted your persona to fit into their world.
5. Because you don’t educate yourself
You’re failing because you think learning is something you only do in school.
Because you’ve stopped picking up books with the intention to learn from them.
Because you think history is boring, physics is for nerds, and philosophy is useless.
Because you would much rather invest in a new car, new clothes, fancy trends or overpriced drinks, instead of investing in yourself. Because you would rather watch TV or mindlessly surf the internet instead of learning something new.
6. Because you’ve lost your curiosity
You’re failing because you’ve stopped naturally questioning things.
Because you’ve embraced a life of mindless distractions instead of exploring the possibilities around you.
Because you don’t understand the need for asking questions in life, going on adventures and exploring the unknown.
Because you go about your day blindfolded, oblivious to every aspect of the world that you aren’t already familiar with. Blissfully ignorant of the thousands of opportunities that exist right within your reach.
7. Because you shy away from the uncomfortable truth
You’re failing because you instinctively close your mind to anything that might threaten your world-view.
Because in your stubborn conviction, you’ve gotten so ingrained in your beliefs that it would be too uncomfortable to realize that you might have been wrong all along.
Because if you embraced the truth, you would see that the world is free for the taking, and the only thing holding you back from realizing your dreams is yourself.
Finally, you’re failing because you refuse to change. Because even after reading this article, you are unwilling to take any of the criticism to heart and make a commitment to change your life. You’re failing because you’re simply too stuck in your old ways to get out there and do something with your life.