The Mistake of Believing They’re Smarter Than You

The people who created the wisdom you’re living by aren’t any smarter than you

Think about the rules and conventional wisdom you have adopted to help you run your life.

You believe that if you have more money that you will have fewer problems.

You believe that you can’t get a decent job without an advanced degree.

You believe that you shouldn’t feel good about yourself unless your body is sexy.

You believe that the better you are at following these, the more assured you are of success.

But you’re dead wrong.

You’re following other people’s rules because you think that they know something that you don’t know.

You believe that they have some insight — or perhaps a shortcut — that will help you avoid your own insecurities and more quickly propel you towards success than if you ventured out on your own.

The truth is that the people who created the wisdom that you’re living by aren’t any smarter than you are.

They are just like you.

They don’t have any magic formulas or know any special secrets that you don’t already know.

They are flesh and blood. Human. They make mistakes and screw up just like you do.

So before you give up on yourself, maybe you should rethink your hero worship.

Before you decide that your ideas are stupid, remember that a lot of other “stupid ideas” turned out to be wonderfully amazing — the lightbulb, pasteurized milk, and travel to the moon.

The secret is that there isn’t a secret. Just “stupid” hard work.

Originally published at danwaldschmidt.com on March 27, 2017.