Swimming Against the Currents
Ever find yourself uplifted on the Weekend and a bit low the week ahead? Perhaps not knowing where the time went.
This might be a sign that you are swimming with the currents.
The currents are what “everyone else” is doing.
Working long hours in a job (or career) they don't like, competing with their fellow colleagues, without knowing why.
Going out for a few drinks instead of working on their dreams because the pandemic is over and it's new years eve, of course.
Thinking the same way as their peers and designing their life based on what they see on social media instead of what they truly want.
Living in the past, future, or on their phone and ignoring the present.
Entrepreneurs, by definition, need to think for themselves. Otherwise, everyone would be an entrepreneur.
This implies swimming against the currents and developing the habit of looking inwards and questioning everything.
If everyone is doing something, that doesn't mean you must partake. Just project forward on their choices or path. Where is it going to lead? Is that somewhere you want to end up?
Most people choose the easy way in life. Choose the hard way instead.
Swimming with the currents is easy. You just follow convention. Swimming against the currents is hard, and, as the name suggests, will carry some resistance.
It requires following your own internal compass and set of values. To do this, you need to first internalize what's important to you and not base it on somebody else's vision.
Then follow it with full conviction.
However, this doesn't mean you take a contrarian stance on everything. It requires questioning even that.
For example, if you receive criticism, the default response that most would have would be to defend themselves and reject the criticism. Instead, ask, is there any truth to this? Maybe I can actually learn something and improve.
Always look to improve and be better than you were before. Then improve the world to be better than how you found it.
Swimming against the currents is a mindset and attitude towards life. It's easy to predict where you will end up if you follow convention. Just look at what everyone else is doing.
But swimming against the currents is where true adventure and innovation lie.
You can't predict where you are going because it has never been done before.
That is what moves the world forward.
For further insight on how to swim against the currents, check out these excellent books.
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