Settling for less than you deserve

Don't we all start out with wild expectations of what life will give us? When we are in our teens and early twenties, we are bright-eyed and bush-tailed and just learning what the possibilities can be. Once we have attained a trade of some sort - be it as a scientist, a plumber, an accountant - whatever - we settle into our chosen niche and look around again at the possibilities available. Do we go for the top or do we settle for the middle ground?

And whatever we decide, it is our choice! I am not going into the ramifications of events which life throws our way, such as divorces/accidents/children/financial collapses, I am addressing everyday life and our way of dealing with what we have. We do the best with what our circumstances dictate and whether we deserve our lives for the effort that we put in, I believe depends on our expectations of ourselves. If a person is a middle management engineer, for example, then if he has chosen to be at that level, is happy, has everything he needs and can provide adequately for his family, then he has gotten what he deserves.

However, if he is capable of moving up the promotion ladder, is stymied at every turn but doesn’t do anything to overcome the situation by changing jobs or pushing his own barrow and whines about it - then he has also gotten what he deserves. Deserving is a strange concept. Who decides what is deserved by whom? Expectations are also pretty ridiculous. Expecting to deserve something is off the charts stupid. The ego is so greedy and self-serving that it destroys relationships in the interest of its own happiness.

Critical thinking should be a major subject and universally required in all schools. Then we might not be slaves to our egos any more and therefore I am not so sure anybody can talk seriously about what they “deserve” unless they have been truly abused. That is when you can talk about not deserving something. If you are simply dissatisfied with your life, it's a very lazy way to view reality. Instead of thinking about what you deserve, why not do something that makes your life extraordinary?

When you strive after something, you have to decide whether to keep striving or accept what you have. This is something that each person has to decide. It’s not that we get complacent, or distracted, sometimes our dreams go beyond what’s achievable. There’s an old saying, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, else what’s a heaven for?” Sometimes, when we push as hard as we can, there may come a time when we decide that we’ve achieved pretty much whatever we can and, though it’s hard to let a dream die, it may be the right thing to do. Dreaming the impossible dream is silly.

Dreaming an unlikely dream is OK, but as card layers say, “You have to know when to hold them and when to fold them.” In other words, many of us don't try because we don't think we can, don't think we're worthy or don't believe we would make a good career option. The Solution lies in all those stories we tell ourselves that make the difference. We tell each other stories often, to explain why things are or aren't working. The solution to not going bigger is to begin telling ourselves we can, why we can and as many other positive things possible. Stay blessed! #kishoreshintre #possessedbywritingspirit #ks850articles #proudtobeindian