I used to think I was strange for struggling with academics, research, and in general, life.
Now, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is state of almost everyone at every stage of their life. We turn to so-called “leaders,” “top performers,” and “gurus” because things just look so easy for them. They have their crap together.
One simple conversation almost always changes that belief. You either find out that they are either arseholes, ridden with anxiety, or highly depressed. Those people are also looking at their own “leaders,” “top performers,” and “gurus.” And, like a never-ending Russian Doll, you discover that the world is not what it seems.
Don’t let your imagination of the ideal make you give up on yourself. You are one more day away from achieving your goals. This is what it means to be human. You are not a failure, problematic, or strange. You are a real person.
You simply have to keep working one day at a time. You might be slower than other people, but that does not prevent you from getting to where you are going. You will get to your destination. You just have to keep driving in that direction.
I also want you to remember this. If you feel like you are not normal, that is good. That means you are making a difference, having your own thoughts, and standing up for what you believe in. Normal people do some pretty sucky things that in ten years do not work out for them. You only find out this information after you have been doing the thing you are doing for a while.
If you like this blog post, you might want to watch this video about feeling unproductive:
Should You Worry About Productivity?
You cannot change who you are, and what your productivity is. You can change the capital that you have access to, and that will improve your productivity. So, how do you get access to capital?
Rather than worry about your productivity, you should be worrying about being empathetic for the people around you, and having gratitude for the things that you do have. This is especially true on the days you are exasperated, and are liable to hurt the feelings of others.
In other words, you build productivity increases by being nice to others, because the only source of capital in the world comes from other people. Make giving part of your life. The most attractive thing about someone is not their beauty, or intelligence, but it is the fact they care about others.
So, What If You Still Believe Other People Are More Productive Than You?
If you think others have it together or are more successful, they are particularly good at fooling you. Some are just better actors on the stage of life.
Yes, you will still get jealous of others all the time. However, you have to remind myself that life is abundant. It truly is. Others don’t take away from you when they succeed. They add to your life, and you add to their life.