Hey there. Been a long time since I wrote something. You must have heard people advising you never to underestimate yourself. But upon reading the title of this blog, some you guys must already have formed a perception that this guy is crazy. Well, if you think so: maybe you're right! Because I urge you all to underestimate yourselves. Why? Read on to know.
As you guys may expect, I will share a personal experience. In my school days, there used to be people(my co-students) who spoke better than me, who had a charming personality, who had exceptional fluency in English, who had outstanding coding skills and who were womanizers..:P
I felt that I was nowhere close to any of them. I had handful of friends and I didn't use to hang out even with them at times. Especially in the last 2 years of my school life, I just tried to cover myself and rather indulge myself in my P.C.M. books in lieu of conversing properly with people. I thought that it will just end up showcasing my mediocrity by not living up to their expectations. I looked at guys who were better than me in one thing or the other. I tried emulating their qualities but the result was even more weird.
Fast forward to college, where I kept on meeting new people almost everyday and even if I didn't wish to, I had to talk to survive in an alien land. There, I started seeing muscled, heavily bearded men of my age group. I, being a lean and clean shaved individual kept myself wrapped in the cloth of mediocrity. But then, things changed a bit when I joined Toastmasters(a chapter in my college which emphasizes on developing one's public speaking, communication and leadership skills). People were kind enough to except my flaws on the stage. My club members accepted me the way I was and showered me with a lot of love and appreciation. I started achieving things at regular interval, making me hungry to explore more and achieve more. This in turn, helped me in unwrapping the cloth of mediocrity. With time, I realized, that there is no point underestimating yourself over others. Each one of us is unique. Now you guys must be thinking that I have really gone crazy. "What the...ahem ahem..this guy is contradicting the title of his article now!" Well well. I focused on the qualities which others had but I didn't. But with time, I started working on the awesome qualities which I had but others didn't! I accepted myself for who I am. But I still underestimated myself! (You at this point be like.."alright, I am done. I will close this article right now. This lad doesn't know what he is writing!") Wait wait. I still UNDERESTIMATE MYSELF, BUT THE GUY I COMPARE MYSELF WITH IS....(DRUMROLLS)...AN IMPROVED ME IN THE FUTURE. This unique kind of underestimation helps me stay out of my comfort zone and urges me to keep working on the awesome, unique qualities that I have but others don't. Now, when I see other people who I think are better than me, they just inspire me not to become like them, but to notice some really good qualities in them and then try to rub them off on myself. Rest other qualities, like rich beard and well built muscles aren't needed for a man to be attractive. If he is pure, honest,sincere, dedicated and respectful towards others, these should make others love him. The guy who typed this article is a living example of the previous sentence and he extends his gratitude to all those who have showered their love and support on him. He also thanks his haters(of course he knows that there are a few) for making him realize that he is doing something really good and achieving somewhat reasonable heights. So a key takeaway: Underestimate yourself in such a way that the CURRENT YOU feels mediocre to the FUTURE YOU. Strive every moment to become that FUTURE YOU. Enough of "Gyaan." Good night.
As you guys may expect, I will share a personal experience. In my school days, there used to be people(my co-students) who spoke better than me, who had a charming personality, who had exceptional fluency in English, who had outstanding coding skills and who were womanizers..:P
I felt that I was nowhere close to any of them. I had handful of friends and I didn't use to hang out even with them at times. Especially in the last 2 years of my school life, I just tried to cover myself and rather indulge myself in my P.C.M. books in lieu of conversing properly with people. I thought that it will just end up showcasing my mediocrity by not living up to their expectations. I looked at guys who were better than me in one thing or the other. I tried emulating their qualities but the result was even more weird.
Fast forward to college, where I kept on meeting new people almost everyday and even if I didn't wish to, I had to talk to survive in an alien land. There, I started seeing muscled, heavily bearded men of my age group. I, being a lean and clean shaved individual kept myself wrapped in the cloth of mediocrity. But then, things changed a bit when I joined Toastmasters(a chapter in my college which emphasizes on developing one's public speaking, communication and leadership skills). People were kind enough to except my flaws on the stage. My club members accepted me the way I was and showered me with a lot of love and appreciation. I started achieving things at regular interval, making me hungry to explore more and achieve more. This in turn, helped me in unwrapping the cloth of mediocrity. With time, I realized, that there is no point underestimating yourself over others. Each one of us is unique. Now you guys must be thinking that I have really gone crazy. "What the...ahem ahem..this guy is contradicting the title of his article now!" Well well. I focused on the qualities which others had but I didn't. But with time, I started working on the awesome qualities which I had but others didn't! I accepted myself for who I am. But I still underestimated myself! (You at this point be like.."alright, I am done. I will close this article right now. This lad doesn't know what he is writing!") Wait wait. I still UNDERESTIMATE MYSELF, BUT THE GUY I COMPARE MYSELF WITH IS....(DRUMROLLS)...AN IMPROVED ME IN THE FUTURE. This unique kind of underestimation helps me stay out of my comfort zone and urges me to keep working on the awesome, unique qualities that I have but others don't. Now, when I see other people who I think are better than me, they just inspire me not to become like them, but to notice some really good qualities in them and then try to rub them off on myself. Rest other qualities, like rich beard and well built muscles aren't needed for a man to be attractive. If he is pure, honest,sincere, dedicated and respectful towards others, these should make others love him. The guy who typed this article is a living example of the previous sentence and he extends his gratitude to all those who have showered their love and support on him. He also thanks his haters(of course he knows that there are a few) for making him realize that he is doing something really good and achieving somewhat reasonable heights. So a key takeaway: Underestimate yourself in such a way that the CURRENT YOU feels mediocre to the FUTURE YOU. Strive every moment to become that FUTURE YOU. Enough of "Gyaan." Good night.
