Everyday, I'm posting a message on Twitter. That message will serve as the first (in bold) sentence for short written posts I have below.
Education is important but the newer generations aren’t getting it at their schools due to how severely schools punish mistakes and force people into their comfort zone.
We associate education with schools but the newer generations aren’t acquiring the skills and knowledge to prepare them for adulthood. Many of those graduating from high schools and colleges still find themselves ill-prepared for the cruel world we live in. After all, they were given the impression that the education they got was all they needed to find success in life.
One major reason for this poor preparation is how schools view mistakes. We have all taken tests and making mistakes cost us marks. If we make too many mistakes, we fail the test and feel like a failure. The fear of making mistakes forces people to stay within their comfort zone and do what they are good at. Sadly, the comfort zone doesn’t adapt to the real world.
Our world is changing so rapidly due to technology. Changes that once took a decade might only require a few weeks nowadays. The comfort zone we formed when we were in high school was suitable a few years ago but, once we enter post secondary, we find this comfort zone so outdated that it hurts us more than it aids us.
Yet, the emphasis on avoiding mistakes at schools make us unwilling to get out of our outdated comfort zone. The uncertainty freezes us in our tracks and most of us cannot be coaxed into facing the unknown. We might know that we aren’t moving forward in life but we hold onto the diminishing hope that our comfort zone is still our only sanctuary in this world.
_____
Fear of failure is killing the creativity we need to make our dreams come true because we are unwilling to do something vastly different to gain an incredible outcome.
If we ask people whether or not they are willing to fail in life, most, if not all, of them will say they don’t ever want to fail. The word failure strikes fear in people’s hearts and people generally avoid it like a plague. This all began with our schools where mistakes and failures are viewed so negatively that it’s almost the equivalent of people’s worst phobias.
This fear also kills the creativity we once possess because we are unwilling to pursue anything with uncertain results. To be creative, we must be willing to try new things and chances are most of those things will go sour. What we should be striving for is to find learning experiences that will get us closer to our dreams by discovering our strengths and capitalizing on them.
When the outcome is below expectations, we see ourselves as failing in something. This sort of mindset often stop us from starting an endeavor before it even begins. We convince our mind all the worst case scenarios that are possible if we take the first step so we are eventually persuaded that the best course of action is never taking that first step at all.
When we talk about great people, we often find them standing out from the rest. They might have done something vastly different and that gave them the edge to rise above the others chasing similar dreams. When we allow the fear of failure control our every move, we are doomed to do the same old activity we’ve been doing for years, if not decades, and we’d be insane if we expect a different outcome one day.
_____
We want to achieve great things and be remembered in the history books but most of us won’t get there until we find the courage to stand out in the masses of mediocrity.
When we were young, we were filled with hopes and dreams. We didn’t know the term impossible because we were told stories of heroes and heroines who overcome all odds to come out ahead and save the kingdom or the world. What has changed that made us feel so limited in our capabilities and see so many things in life as impossible?
Regardless of how impossible some situations might be, we still like to dream. We like to see ourselves standing on the stage inspiring others or be the athlete who got the game winning shot in the championship game. We still have all of those big dreams we want to achieve and yet our belief in our limits hold us back and prevent us from taking that necessary first step.
We are so focused on not standing out that we become mediocre like everyone around us. We don’t want to be different because, since a young age, we were picked on and bullied when we’re different. In our society, it seems like, the more we stand out, the more we suffer. In the meantime, we don’t realize that the celebrities and the great people of our time had to stand out or nobody will notice their great feats.
As terrifying as it may appear, we must find the courage to put behind mediocrity. We might walk a lonely path. We might be criticized and judged in the early stages of our journey. Our own mind might be constantly telling us to turn back to the comfort zone offered by mediocrity. Despite all that, we must overcome them all if we want to make our dreams come true and become great people.
_____
We need more heroes in our world. Unlike the heroes who possess superpowers in movies, the heroes we need are those do the right things and inspire others to do the same.
Most of us can agree that we need more heroes in our society. With our media constantly bombarding us with all the negative things in life, it’s easy for us to develop a negative mentality as we see the world around us going downhill with no signs of stopping. During these moments, we feel that we need heroes to save the day just as they do in movies.
The heroes in movies, more often than not, possess superpowers that allow them to defeat villains. Of course, there are also movies showing soldiers who make the sacrifices to save their comrades and their country. In addition, we have movies based on true stories where a coach or a teacher changed the lives of their players or students to overcome the horrible odds they faced.
The heroes we need more in our world don’t have to have superpowers. They can be an ordinary person who does the right things in life and inspire others to do the same. They might pick a harder path where, for example, the person goes to a high school filled with students who will likely go to jail shortly after graduation instead of teaching at a prestigious private school.
We need more ordinary people who perform the feats we normally associate with heroes. We can not only prove that even ordinary people are capable of incredible things that can change their community and even the world but we can also create more heroes as a result since the people who know can suddenly do their small part in changing the world for a better place.
_____
Anyone can be a hero because all of us can have a positive impact on other people’s lives. It all begins with doing the right thing in life expecting nothing in return.
What’s incredible about all of us is that we can all be heroes. We don’t need superpowers or lots of money to have a positive impact on other people. There are so many things we can do which, while it might not be recognized beyond our community, can make us a hero in other people’s eyes and possible inspire them to do the same thing.
For instance, we can volunteer at a place that feeds the homeless. This doesn’t require any special skills and usually is just a time commitment. We are helping out the less fortunate to give them a chance to get back up from hard time. To some of these homeless people, they see the volunteers are heroes because, when others stay away from them, the volunteers choose to be there doing what’s right.
The question is rarely whether or not we can be a hero but, rather, whether we’re willing to do the right things in life and expect absolutely nothing in return. Being a volunteer who helps the homeless give us a good feeling but we aren’t really getting anything in return otherwise. Too often, we have people who only do things that can get them something worth their time.
In our society, we have people who are simply selfish. They don’t do things for free and always expect something in return for their time. They do something for a friend but expects a favor for a later time or payment for their time. Heroes don’t do things for these sort of returns. They do what they do because it’s the right thing to do.
_____
In life, we must be willing to give without expecting anything in return to gain the things we value in life. If everything is a trade, we’ll receive much less of what we desire.
Nowadays, we are so focused on ourselves and what we can obtain by doing a certain task. We do things for other people for money now or a favor later in life. We always expect something in return that’s equal or greater in value than what we have offered originally. We want what we perceive as a fair trade for our time and hard work.
For many of us, we also feel an emptiness within us whether we admit it or not. We feel like there’s a void that we desperately try to fill but, no matter how hard we try, we couldn’t do it. We try to accumulate more wealth and get more expensive things as a way of gaining happiness and finding purpose but those simply don’t satisfy us.
What many of us should be doing is giving more than we’ll receive. One of the most valuable resource we can give is our time because, once it’s gone, we’ll never get it back. If we can use some of our time for a good cause like helping the homeless or children from impoverished families, we’ll gain more than what the money we earn from our job can offer us.
In the example above, we don’t expect anything back from those unfortunate people. It’s true we’ll get a nice feeling knowing we made some difference but we aren’t getting the fair trade we are normally accustomed to in our society. When we find ourselves capable of giving more often, we’ll find a balance in our life that’s unattainable if we were too focused on only receiving.
_____
There are people who need help and some of us want to give them the aid to maybe turn their world around. We should give not only money but also some of our time.
There are less fortunate people in all parts of the world including our own cities or towns. Unlike the developing world, it’s not always easy to recognize the poor people in developed world. Families can look very ordinary but they can be struggling below the poverty line. They are fighting a battle many people cannot see.
What we must remember is that a lot of these families didn’t want this situation where they must rely on welfare or any assistance to get through each day. Many of them were probably no different from us but tough times happened and they haven’t been able to recover. It’s quite terrifying to imagine that we can be in similar situations if bad events happen consecutively.
During these time, these people need an extra hand or extra hands to pull them out of their situation. There’s no guarantee they’ll recover in the short term but the fact that a complete stranger like you and I care can be the difference between them continuously fighting or them giving up. When we donate money, we are a faceless person they cannot connect with.
When we commit time to volunteer, then they have a person they can see and interact. They know a complete stranger is there for them and that can be very powerful. It’s not always possible for people to find time but, too often, people aren’t trying hard enough. They feel a monetary donation is all they need when a bit of their time can have far greater impact.
_____
Education is important but the newer generations aren’t getting it at their schools due to how severely schools punish mistakes and force people into their comfort zone.
We associate education with schools but the newer generations aren’t acquiring the skills and knowledge to prepare them for adulthood. Many of those graduating from high schools and colleges still find themselves ill-prepared for the cruel world we live in. After all, they were given the impression that the education they got was all they needed to find success in life.
One major reason for this poor preparation is how schools view mistakes. We have all taken tests and making mistakes cost us marks. If we make too many mistakes, we fail the test and feel like a failure. The fear of making mistakes forces people to stay within their comfort zone and do what they are good at. Sadly, the comfort zone doesn’t adapt to the real world.
Our world is changing so rapidly due to technology. Changes that once took a decade might only require a few weeks nowadays. The comfort zone we formed when we were in high school was suitable a few years ago but, once we enter post secondary, we find this comfort zone so outdated that it hurts us more than it aids us.
Yet, the emphasis on avoiding mistakes at schools make us unwilling to get out of our outdated comfort zone. The uncertainty freezes us in our tracks and most of us cannot be coaxed into facing the unknown. We might know that we aren’t moving forward in life but we hold onto the diminishing hope that our comfort zone is still our only sanctuary in this world.
_____
Fear of failure is killing the creativity we need to make our dreams come true because we are unwilling to do something vastly different to gain an incredible outcome.
If we ask people whether or not they are willing to fail in life, most, if not all, of them will say they don’t ever want to fail. The word failure strikes fear in people’s hearts and people generally avoid it like a plague. This all began with our schools where mistakes and failures are viewed so negatively that it’s almost the equivalent of people’s worst phobias.
This fear also kills the creativity we once possess because we are unwilling to pursue anything with uncertain results. To be creative, we must be willing to try new things and chances are most of those things will go sour. What we should be striving for is to find learning experiences that will get us closer to our dreams by discovering our strengths and capitalizing on them.
When the outcome is below expectations, we see ourselves as failing in something. This sort of mindset often stop us from starting an endeavor before it even begins. We convince our mind all the worst case scenarios that are possible if we take the first step so we are eventually persuaded that the best course of action is never taking that first step at all.
When we talk about great people, we often find them standing out from the rest. They might have done something vastly different and that gave them the edge to rise above the others chasing similar dreams. When we allow the fear of failure control our every move, we are doomed to do the same old activity we’ve been doing for years, if not decades, and we’d be insane if we expect a different outcome one day.
_____
We want to achieve great things and be remembered in the history books but most of us won’t get there until we find the courage to stand out in the masses of mediocrity.
When we were young, we were filled with hopes and dreams. We didn’t know the term impossible because we were told stories of heroes and heroines who overcome all odds to come out ahead and save the kingdom or the world. What has changed that made us feel so limited in our capabilities and see so many things in life as impossible?
Regardless of how impossible some situations might be, we still like to dream. We like to see ourselves standing on the stage inspiring others or be the athlete who got the game winning shot in the championship game. We still have all of those big dreams we want to achieve and yet our belief in our limits hold us back and prevent us from taking that necessary first step.
We are so focused on not standing out that we become mediocre like everyone around us. We don’t want to be different because, since a young age, we were picked on and bullied when we’re different. In our society, it seems like, the more we stand out, the more we suffer. In the meantime, we don’t realize that the celebrities and the great people of our time had to stand out or nobody will notice their great feats.
As terrifying as it may appear, we must find the courage to put behind mediocrity. We might walk a lonely path. We might be criticized and judged in the early stages of our journey. Our own mind might be constantly telling us to turn back to the comfort zone offered by mediocrity. Despite all that, we must overcome them all if we want to make our dreams come true and become great people.
_____
We need more heroes in our world. Unlike the heroes who possess superpowers in movies, the heroes we need are those do the right things and inspire others to do the same.
Most of us can agree that we need more heroes in our society. With our media constantly bombarding us with all the negative things in life, it’s easy for us to develop a negative mentality as we see the world around us going downhill with no signs of stopping. During these moments, we feel that we need heroes to save the day just as they do in movies.
The heroes in movies, more often than not, possess superpowers that allow them to defeat villains. Of course, there are also movies showing soldiers who make the sacrifices to save their comrades and their country. In addition, we have movies based on true stories where a coach or a teacher changed the lives of their players or students to overcome the horrible odds they faced.
The heroes we need more in our world don’t have to have superpowers. They can be an ordinary person who does the right things in life and inspire others to do the same. They might pick a harder path where, for example, the person goes to a high school filled with students who will likely go to jail shortly after graduation instead of teaching at a prestigious private school.
We need more ordinary people who perform the feats we normally associate with heroes. We can not only prove that even ordinary people are capable of incredible things that can change their community and even the world but we can also create more heroes as a result since the people who know can suddenly do their small part in changing the world for a better place.
_____
Anyone can be a hero because all of us can have a positive impact on other people’s lives. It all begins with doing the right thing in life expecting nothing in return.
What’s incredible about all of us is that we can all be heroes. We don’t need superpowers or lots of money to have a positive impact on other people. There are so many things we can do which, while it might not be recognized beyond our community, can make us a hero in other people’s eyes and possible inspire them to do the same thing.
For instance, we can volunteer at a place that feeds the homeless. This doesn’t require any special skills and usually is just a time commitment. We are helping out the less fortunate to give them a chance to get back up from hard time. To some of these homeless people, they see the volunteers are heroes because, when others stay away from them, the volunteers choose to be there doing what’s right.
The question is rarely whether or not we can be a hero but, rather, whether we’re willing to do the right things in life and expect absolutely nothing in return. Being a volunteer who helps the homeless give us a good feeling but we aren’t really getting anything in return otherwise. Too often, we have people who only do things that can get them something worth their time.
In our society, we have people who are simply selfish. They don’t do things for free and always expect something in return for their time. They do something for a friend but expects a favor for a later time or payment for their time. Heroes don’t do things for these sort of returns. They do what they do because it’s the right thing to do.
_____
In life, we must be willing to give without expecting anything in return to gain the things we value in life. If everything is a trade, we’ll receive much less of what we desire.
Nowadays, we are so focused on ourselves and what we can obtain by doing a certain task. We do things for other people for money now or a favor later in life. We always expect something in return that’s equal or greater in value than what we have offered originally. We want what we perceive as a fair trade for our time and hard work.
For many of us, we also feel an emptiness within us whether we admit it or not. We feel like there’s a void that we desperately try to fill but, no matter how hard we try, we couldn’t do it. We try to accumulate more wealth and get more expensive things as a way of gaining happiness and finding purpose but those simply don’t satisfy us.
What many of us should be doing is giving more than we’ll receive. One of the most valuable resource we can give is our time because, once it’s gone, we’ll never get it back. If we can use some of our time for a good cause like helping the homeless or children from impoverished families, we’ll gain more than what the money we earn from our job can offer us.
In the example above, we don’t expect anything back from those unfortunate people. It’s true we’ll get a nice feeling knowing we made some difference but we aren’t getting the fair trade we are normally accustomed to in our society. When we find ourselves capable of giving more often, we’ll find a balance in our life that’s unattainable if we were too focused on only receiving.
_____
There are people who need help and some of us want to give them the aid to maybe turn their world around. We should give not only money but also some of our time.
There are less fortunate people in all parts of the world including our own cities or towns. Unlike the developing world, it’s not always easy to recognize the poor people in developed world. Families can look very ordinary but they can be struggling below the poverty line. They are fighting a battle many people cannot see.
What we must remember is that a lot of these families didn’t want this situation where they must rely on welfare or any assistance to get through each day. Many of them were probably no different from us but tough times happened and they haven’t been able to recover. It’s quite terrifying to imagine that we can be in similar situations if bad events happen consecutively.
During these time, these people need an extra hand or extra hands to pull them out of their situation. There’s no guarantee they’ll recover in the short term but the fact that a complete stranger like you and I care can be the difference between them continuously fighting or them giving up. When we donate money, we are a faceless person they cannot connect with.
When we commit time to volunteer, then they have a person they can see and interact. They know a complete stranger is there for them and that can be very powerful. It’s not always possible for people to find time but, too often, people aren’t trying hard enough. They feel a monetary donation is all they need when a bit of their time can have far greater impact.
_____