Inspiration Corner
A collection of write-ups from experiences of life that inspire, empower, influence & trigger positive values, habits & mindsets.
Back to Square ONE? I think not!
Goals. Some of us LOVE them, some most of us DREAD them, and the rest of us work just enough to get past them! Some of us ace through with seemingly no effort at all, most of us struggle and wriggle through them when we cannot wriggle OUT of them, and the rest of us manage to achieve our salt's worth with painstaking effort day after day. And after what seems like a true success story, things begin to crumple down, and we stare at it in horror: We thought it was DONE. Before it all came crashing down. Before we understood this could even happen- that whatever we built was capable of crumbling down, in front of our very own eyes. And we're back to Square One. Question is, are we?
We all set goals for ourselves, some of us set mighty ones, and some of us, lofty ones. The mighty ones are by those who believe they can, or those who are ready to learn to make them happen; the lofty ones by those who are content with where they are and want a slower pace, even if that ends up as no pace at all.
We all map the goals to the timelines, and know what we must cover everyday in order to get where we want to in a couple of months, or even years. We bring all the equipment we'll probably need in order to accomplish it, and gather friends who will give us the push when our own fuels get empty. And on our journey we sometimes find strangers who are just like us, and we ask them to join the group as well! What started out as a journey towards a conquest that was supposed to be just your own, soon becomes a joint undertaking with pooling in all of the reserves all of you have brought together. The first few days are a picnic. All of you have all resources in abundance- you overestimate what you have when you put it all together, so you overspend, and have a ball. A few days into the effort, and a bright soul amongst you will point out to everyone who cares to listen, that you guys are headed to a burn out if you continue to use spend the resources you gathered for your journey at this rate. Some will begin to see sense and start to take pains of saving resources, while the rest pay no heed and continue having a party everyday. There soon comes a time when they're out of resources, and they notice that YOU still have some of your resources to spare! So if you were alone, you could've probably completed your journey comfortably, but that is not to be! They ask you if you would mind sharing what you have with them, only so that they can complete this journey you all began together. You take heart, and agree to share. The remaining days of joys and sorrows are shared, it is no longer a ball at all times, but not as bad as death either. After what can only be termed as herculean efforts, you achieve your goal, along with a few others with you. Along the journey, you feel like you have seen it all: people who went back where they came from, because of the fear that gripped them; people who got lost along the way in darkness, who probably might complete this journey taking a little longer; and people who fell off the cliff, by bending too far out of curiosity. You've seen those who began, those who meandered, those who struggled, those who are never to touch completion, and you've seen the ones who did make it through, amongst whom one is you.
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This is supposed to the end of your journey, when the very peak you scaled begins to tremble. It seems like the winds of destiny is blowing the way it originally intended to, but you have no idea where this will take you: to another peak, over a cliff, or to rock bottom. What is this rock bottom anyway? It is that square one. It is where you began, where you had nothing. And to think you're back to square ONE cannot be further from the TRUTH. How is that, you ask? Let me explain, with a picture.
As you can see from the picture here, each time you come to a same point as before, in the DIRECT view it will appear like as if you are going around in circles. But the TRUTH is, you are NOT! See the side view, and you will immediately understand. The direct view of a spring cannot show you the depth, but a side view, can! That displacement that you see, with time on the x-axis (horizontal axis), is the EXPERIENCE that you have gained while you traversed that path, and NOTHING in the world can equal the experience! Success as they say, is truly in the journey! So the next time you feel like you're back to square one, look at the SIDE view of the picture, not just the front view. What you will find will truly stun you, for even if you really want to, you can never step on square ONE again. Here's wishing you all newer squares in all walks of your lives, cheers!
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Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 28th July 2015.