My PERSONAL Mindset, and Why I Tackle Challenges.
My PERSONAL Mindset, and Why I Tackle Challenges.
Challenges are interesting dynamics to me. Because they're different for each person, no two people will have the same challenges. There are internal mechanisms which make one thing a challenge for one person, while not representing the slightest hurdle for another, in the same scenario.
But what is interesting to me is the "why" behind challenges. Or rather, why I actively seek out challenges.
Many people often say, "It's to see how far I can push myself," or "I want to find out if I can make it," or something to that effect. That's not the case for me. I am always upping the ante, and setting that bar a little higher each time; the "limit" is always out of reach. If I fail, I try again.
Some things, I won't be able to do. But I won't find that out until I have moved the mountains, parted the seas, and found a plumber on a long-weekend Sunday. Unless I have tried the impossible, I ain't done.
And there's a certain "suck" factor that has to be there, for me to have the challenge. I know I have high performance output, and it's only natural to push hard. But pushing ON, when it sucks, is what motivates me.
It's knowing that I am doing something that no one else is capable of doing, because they can't or don't want to. They don't belong here. We're at the top of the food chain, and those around me who share that mindset... we have a sense of pride.
When everyone else is quitting because they limit their beliefs, or don't have the mental fortitude, or just plain don't want it bad enough... that's where you'll find me excelling.
I need that challenge every day. And it's not because I need to "know" whether or not I can do it; I know I can. But it's the "push hard" behind it, that fires me up. I want it to suck. I want it to be too hard. I want no one else to have the balls and guts to tackle it. I want you to step up to the plate, but give up and quit. Because I am excellent, and I don't want you around to infect me with your mediocrity.
Because... I'm gonna run right past you, and reap those rewards. The reason I push so hard, is because I want to earn and deserve those rewards. I want to take what you can't and won't.
Do I think highly of myself? Of course. I have a high self-esteem; success breeds confidence. Confidence is one thing, cockiness is another. But do we have a certain energy around us? Certainly. Do we inspire and lead? It comes naturally. Do we get the results, when everyone else is dropping like flies? That speaks for itself. That is who we are. We are Terminators, and we don't stop till we take that target.
I wish everyone success. And I don't worry about a little competition. I think there's plenty to go around for everyone, since not everyone is going to make it. And those who do, deserve to be here. It's probably a mentality I carry over from my time in the military. Quitting is simply not an option.
I'm competitive, no doubt. But I am not even competing, here. It's not about me being better than you; chances are very likely, I'll leave you behind anyway. I'm competing against myself. It's about me being better... period. Not "best" - I don't know that I'll ever reach my "best". But each time I do anything, I will be BETTER.
Always.
-Josh
Recent Comments
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Without having a row I just want to put my point across.I find your first post a little condescending and yourself very egotistical.Coming from the military that probably has given you the mindset of no failure but I would say I wont be the only person that is offended by your post.I know rightly it would be your way or the "highway" which I disagree with.You also have a very high opinion of yourself it kind of maddens me.
Do not think you are any better than anyone here because we are all made in the image of God and he loves us all equally.Try to be a bit less condescending in your next post.
Tom, try to look at what is being said, rather than what you THINK is being said. I didn't say "my way or the highway", nor had I ever inferred it.
So what is the subject of this post? It's about mindset and what motivates me. Why do you think I push so hard? It's because I enjoy being somewhere others aren't.
Am I an elitist? Sure. I like the rewards that come with excellence, and I won't sit around listening to the "you can't" crowd, or be told otherwise. If you (and I don't mean you PERSONALLY) can't hack it, whatever we're doing, I refuse to fall down with you.
And I love the view from the top, after I've earned it. Who wouldn't? I work hard, and play hard; there is no middle ground, sir. Credit the years of military service for that. I certainly am thankful for them, and that attitude of "no failure" continues today, even 15 years after having left the Service.
If you mean egotistical in the literal sense of the word, then I am the first to thank you for the compliment. Yes, I rely on myself, and one cannot deny the results had with being centred on one's self, aware of one's abilities, developing them, and pushing the limits of what they believe they can achieve.
We are NOT all made equal, or at least, we don't all ACHIEVE equal. So please don't give me any of that. Why are some people successful and others aren't? Why aren't we all world-class sprinters, or a Michael Jackson, or a Prof. Stephen Hawking?
I respect your right to have a religiously-infused mentality, but I will not accept that you wish to push it upon me as a "matter of fact". Because SOME people ARE "superior", as a result of what they DO, and the mindset / effort behind how and why they do it. You can't tell me the homeless people I give charity money to every month are the same as Queen Elizabeth II.
Let's keep it real for a moment, Tom. Because how and what they have lived have MADE them who they are. There is something fundamentally flawed about the "all equal" argument, simply because the FACT is, we are NOT.
Tom, there is nothing wrong with having a high opinion of one's self, and if it maddens you that I have one, then 1) you have a misguided priority over what angers you; 2) I personally can't be bothered to lose sleep over not being liked because of who I am.
There was nothing patronising or condescending about my post. If you don't like it, then firstly READ AND UNDERSTAND what I say, before commenting. You have a right to make your voice heard, and say your opinion. That isn't to say I will agree with it, or think you are right. There is always tact in what I say or do, despite the directness of it.
Being aware of one's worth, skills, achievements, and success does NOT make a person condescending or patronising; atittudes do. Does it make me "better" in business and entrepreneurship than someone who HASN'T been at the top? if we look at results, then the answer is "DUH!", and it all came from how I function within.
It doesn't make me any less an outgoing sociable person, a loving father and husband, a conscientious donator to charity, a volunteer in my community, a spiritually profound and nurtured individual (mind you, I am SPIRITUAL, not religious!) and a professional happy to SHARE that knowledge. BUT... what you do with THAT knowledge is your OWN business; I've done my part, now do yours (and, again, I don't mean YOU personall).
And I closed my post saying that I wished every single person in here success. I know how I did it, in all areas of my life, and it certainly wasn't by getting mad when other people showed me how successful they were, and gave it to me straight, about how "tough and disciplined" they had be - indeed, I TOO would have to be - if I wanted to reap the same rewards.
If anything, it only served to motivate me even more, make that fire burn hotter, dream bigger, and push harder. SOMEONE had done it; so could I, then.
There is nothing about God or equality, here, unless you mean that the knowledge available here levels the playing field for all those involved. What they DO with it, comes down to WHO they are, and HOW they think, and WHAT they do with.
Failure is ALWAYS around the corner, and far more people lead lives of quiet desperation, rather than the success they hoped for and aspired to. God doesn't come down and make you rank n.1 in Google, my friend. So don't even start pushing the religion argument.
In conclusion, I appreciate that you commented, as this is what dialogue is all about, although I firmly state you are WRONG in your assessment of what is both written and intended to be conveyed as a message.
-Josh
(P.S. - Magic Johnson, the legendary basketball player, once commented in an interview, that he only ever competed against HIMSELF. He always pushed HIMSELF to be a little bit better each and every time he trained and got on the court. He didn't care how good the other players were - he wanted to be the best HE could be.
And that is EXACTLY the same mindset I have, and shared here. Because when you DO push that hard, success is only a matter of consequence.)
Know what it is like being on the cutting edge. Know that what others leave behind were too challenging, am ready to pick up where they left off and get the job done.
Confidence is in what you know you can do. The plus factor is when you can teach someone else what you learned. Pay it forward.
Mighty fine post Josh. ^_~
Thought provoking. I have never focused on competition with others, my focus is always how to improve myself and grow, and that I strive at! :) Christa
It isn't a competition with others, really. When I talk about "making it", and being at a level or place where others aren't - because they can't achieve it, or aren't willing to do what it takes to get there - I mean that in a sort of elitarian context. I mean that in a way that screams, "This is top of the food chain, man!"... and I got there by being exceptional. It goes without saying, that it's at a level where most people won't reach, so I am not even intrinsically considering about competing against them. It's about knowing how much I am worth and capable of doing... and you're not... and defining that as a result, for which I am here... and (again) you're not.
I guess I take my comfort and peace in knowing that I am priceless to my Lord, and He will lead me to fulfill the purpose He designed me for; and as I fulfill that purpose I will bring to this world and all His creation and all mankind, all that He desires me to, in the tapestry of life!
Excellent, post! Thank you!
There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man.
The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.
-- Hindu Proverb
I feel the exact same way. I also think highly of myself and that I am the best in the world at what I do. My challenges and goals matches a saying I use now. "Lets high five the sky". It means to me that since trying high five the sky seems like an impossible challenge, I'm still going to beat that challenge because that's what I do. This mindset is what allow people to succeed. Unwavering confidence.
I suggest you only push yourself from Monday to Saturday, and have a day off and recharge. Then you can do it again next week. It is not very healthy doing it non-stop, you will hurt yourself by the sound of it.
Good luck and God bless.
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We will just agree to disagree and I know it was not you who said my way or the "Highway" that was me and it was my perception of you from the former post.Wishing you great success here although some how I am thinking you wont need it.