I don’t tend to enjoy the format of inspirational bullet point posts so popular on Medium. Reading the first bullet point of this one resonated with me though.
The more you achieve, the more you will want to achieve. The more you will want to achieve, the easier it will be to see others as “below” you — and push them away. The more you push them away, the smaller your circle gets. The less opportunities present themselves. The more you begin to live in emotional isolation. The less opportunities present themselves, the less you can become externally successful. The more you begin to live in emotional isolation, the less you feel fulfilled. Success, and the constant conquest of, is a paradox. The bigger you get, the harder you need to work on remaining small.
When I look back just a few years, I’m amazed how naive I was. I’ve had my best life experiences from taking adventures into the unknown, but with no fear or worry only a desire to experience. Looking back it seems almost insane that I didn’t worry, but I didn’t.
Being naive can be your biggest asset. It keeps you excited about what you’re doing, as you don’t see the cliff at the end of the road you are heading down. Being excited gives you the energy and cause to continue learning. Continued desire to learn and excitement about what you’re learning keeps you interacting with new people in a meaningful way. It’s a wonderful self-propelling cycle of AWESOME. As a get older the hardest task seems to be finding that naivety and wonder within the monotony of a day job.