Urge to progress: The first step to your break-through
When you are seeking change, even the little things can transform into signs or opportunities.
Life presents moments of profound change. Not because everything is perfectly aligned, but because life has achieved a certain stability, and you have developed the strength to leverage this stability to move yourself forward.
To move yourself forward…
When I was younger, I believed that humanity was destined for progress. Then, as I matured, I realised that life simply continues; you cook, you clean, and you strive for a good night’s sleep.
In reality, life often favors this simplicity, and at times, you may find it more peaceful than striving for progress.
Yet, in those rare moments of peace and stability, your mind yearns for challenge.
Why? Numerous articles discuss “how to break out of your comfort zone and its importance of doing so.”
But why do we feel the need to leave our comfort zones when everything is stable and routine in the first place?
I did some research to find out the answer to this question. There were some articles about its evolutionary aspects. The book “The Comfort Crisis” discusses that humankind was foragers from the beginning of their history, and the feeling of succeeding in real-world challenges makes us feel alive again and helps us discover our potentials that could also be an applicable asset for the modern world.
I liked the approach, but this is not an answer to my question. I didn’t seek natural challenges coming from somewhere deep inside of me. I was seeking constant change. And this was making settling down impossible for me and holding me back from building my life.
Then, I did even more readings until I finally found out that I was actually afraid of settling into “this life”: going to a corporate job 8–5 that I couldn’t care less about. And I didn’t realize this until now because I was good at my job. I had only this hunch inside of me that always left me uneasy. There was no name for this uneasiness.
When everything about your life appears “normal” according to the community standards, even you can’t see what’s wrong with yourself!
Being successful in Martin Eden’s world
From time to time, I feel like I’m capable of anything, and it’s true. When you look at success stories from around the world, they all advise to “pursue your dreams no matter what others say.” Because when you’re dedicated, you work hard, and through repetition, you either learn better or, if you’re already skilled, you become more visible.
But we are cruel to ourselves. We are distracted. We dream but do not act. Some don’t even dream.
Companies, on the other hand, are systematic. They set growth targets. No one mocks these targets; you simply give your best, create new ideas, and work hard to meet them. They aren’t influenced by people’s opinions.
But our personal growth is! We can maintain our social status only by staying ordinary. If we aspire to something beyond the ordinary, people will talk.
There are three scenarios in your attempt to step out of the box:
- You could already be so talented that criticism doesn’t affect you, and you easily elevate your social status.
- You might have potential that needs nurturing. You analyze your performance, learn from mistakes, take constructive criticism, work on it, and persist without giving up. Over time, you improve and raise your social standing.
- You might also have potential but struggle to gauge your audience correctly. This leads to frustration, anger, or even despair, hindering any advancement in social status.
To enhance social standing, one must first take risks. Striving for something beyond the ordinary cannot be easy.
There’s no fourth scenario where you lack any talent. Everyone has potential; the key is to decide what you want and be strategic about it.
The second scenario offers hope to many. A prime example is Jack London’s “Martin Eden.” Despite facing criticism, Martin didn’t lose hope. Instead, he took it as feedback and gradually became who he aspired to be.
“But I am I. And I won’t subordinate my taste to the unanimous judgment of mankind” Martin Eden, Jack London
Knowing things thoroughly is not as important to be successful
Martin Eden wanted to be seen in a different light, so he dedicated himself to achieving it. He was so dedicated that 24 hours weren’t enough for him. In the end, he was accepted for who he is, now validated by society.
I see many people presenting themselves as if they were a project! I observe this happening every day while I am still conducting my research to publish something. This realization means that I am not yet destined, and it fuels my urge to progress.
People who had made fun of him began wanting to hang out with him. Thus, they reach out to the rest of the world and make progress in their favor. Most actually deceive themselves, yet they still achieve their aims, don’t they?
Of course, I am not promoting living a life of pretense. I am saying that this is the strategy used by people who can confidently self-promote, often without even realizing it, while those with a greater sense of reality and literature keep it to themselves.
If the aim is to be successful, ‘knowing things thoroughly’ is not as important, because knowledge is infinite, and people often delay taking action in the pursuit of more knowledge, which hinders the spread of their ideas.
I watch this happening every day while I am still doing my research to publish something. I see this as a sign that I am not yet destined, and I get angry at myself, which fuels my urge to progress.
“A very disturbing feature of overconfidence is that it often appears to be poorly associated with knowledge — that is, the more ignorant the individual, the more confident he or she maybe.” Robert Trivers, The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life
All I need is to put myself out there as a person I want to see myself and gradually became that. I need to be careful about the criticism, I need to be like Martin Eden.
Read my article: Content Marketing Specialist with No Content
Driving force for your urge to progress
When I feel I am capable of doing anything, I don’t do much. Even though starting something is easy, maintaining consistency is the absolute key, and it requires a lot of self-discipline. This is the hard part.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”― Peter Attia MD, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
There is a state that I call the ‘urge to progress,’ and it requires a driving force. It doesn’t happen just because you want it. It is a combination of your mental state and where you are at in life. You need to be ready to commit, and sometimes you need to prepare yourself for this commitment. Only then can you become self-disciplined to maintain what you are doing and keep going.
For me, it is always anger or ambition, or ambition derived from anger. I am not sure if I should be worried about this, but I am not. I realized anger is my driving force. With this anger, I don’t hurt people or myself, but I just become more ambitious, so I am destined to make things happen. Then I feel that I am ready to commit and can manage to be self-disciplined.
This was my driving force when I started running in 2017, when I couldn’t find a job after my graduation for months, and it is my driving force today when I am not able to just quit corporate life and move on with my own work.
Ever since this realization, I started to take some actions. I feel more focused and stricter. 24 hours feel not enough, considering going to the gym, eating healthy, keeping the house clean and tidy, and learning a new language (I live in Belgium with zero French or Flemish) are also part of the process of maintaining self-discipline while still working in corporate. Yet, it makes me happy to see that I do even more now.
The next step is to make sure that I am not just doing it but also reaching my quantitative growth targets as if I am a company, so that I will always stop and evaluate if my direction is correct and be able to analyze the feedback from my audience.
So, there is indeed a plan to follow. Sometimes I fail to follow and stress, but it is okay. I’ll get there one by one. And, I’ll write about my progress in the meantime.
