Loser Mentality

Mr. Blue: It's happened again!

Ms. Red: What? Another stumbling block?

Mr. Blue: Yup. I don't know why this always seems to happen to me. Sometimes, you try and try, and then you realize that after all that trying, you're back at the beginning. How do you end an endless cycle that you perpetuate.

Ms. Red: Well, let's think about this for a minute. What exactly are you doing that's wrong?

Mr. Blue: Well, first of all, the fact that its almost the norm for me to reach a stumbling block is wrong.

Ms. Red: How is that? So everytime you reach a set of crossroads, you feel that they're actually not supposed to be there?

Mr. Blue: Well, yeah. One set of crossroads, okay, I can deal. Two sets, sure. Three, errr, fine....But hundreds! That many! Come on...there's a problem here.

Ms. Red: Hmmm...well, then give up.

Mr. Blue: You think?? But where do I go from here?

Ms. Red: Not sure, that's another crossroad, isn't it? Sounds to me like no matter what you do with yourself, you'll just have to face these moments of doubt. Do you really want to live a life with no crossroads?

Mr. Blue: Hmmm....a life with only a straight road. How would that even look like?

Ms. Red: If that will make you happy, then do it.

Mr. Blue: Is that all I need to be happy, though?

Ms. Red: Well, is that your goal? Is "happiness" what you're ultimately trying to achieve?

Mr. Blue: Well, I'm trying to achieve a lot of things. But I guess you can say that the purpose of achieving all of these things is "happiness". So, yes, my goal is to reach that feeling of ultimate satisfaction called "happiness".

Ms. Red: Well, what do you mean by "happiness"?

Mr. Blue: Lots of things, I guess. It changes.

Ms. Red: Well, how can you achieve "happiness" if you haven't thought about what it means to you. You see, for some, its the journey to these crossroads and the passage thru these crossroads that make the end goal worthwhile. But others, its the achievement of the end goal. I think its both - the adventures of getting there and the euphoria of being "there". Either way, does it really matter that the crossroads are there? Why do the crossroads really bother you?

Mr. Blue: Because they're hard. The decisions are hard. Its like, when you're at the traincrossing and the rails are down and the lights are flashing, and you're waiting. You're waiting and waiting and waiting for the train to pass, but you're in a rush but the train is nowhere in sight and you're stuck there waiting. Waiting for the trains to pass.

Ms. Red: Then wait. What's the big deal.

Mr. Blue: Because the waiting is unbearable.

Ms. Red: But what about your goal? Isn't that the main focus here? Why are you so concerned about the train when you have the final destination in mind?

Mr. Blue: Because you still have to cross the crossroads and train tracks to GET to the final destination, right?

Ms. Red: Sounds like crossroads and train tracks are the normal part of getting to any destination. Even though you come across crossroads and train tracks, and animals crossing the road, or even car accidents, there is nothing stopping you from going down the straight path. You can either choose to ignore the crossroads and see where that takes you.

Mr. Blue: Ok, shut up already. We're getting nowhere. Let me get back to what I was doing.

Ms. Red: Fine. So what are you gonna do?

Mr. Blue: Do about what?

Ms. Red: Your stumbling block.

Mr. Blue: What else can I do. I need to find a workaround. The way I see it, you have a choice. You can choose Option A - stop thinking, and just do it. Or Option B - Do something else. I think you're really meant to do something and be somewhere. There is a purpose to all of this. And along the way, life will present you with choices you have to make. But these choices are things that are not meant to confuse you, they're meant to guide you. And its up to you to be open to these things and seek what it is you're meant to do. Life will always give you hints and opportunities to guide you but it is also up to you to see them as opportunities. If you don't, then I guess they'll just look like another crossroad or train track. I have to think - what do these options really mean to me? What are these signs trying to show me?

Ms. Red: Sounds like you found a workaround.

Mr. Blue: Yeah, the workaround to stop procrastinating and find a real challenge. In the big scheme of things, this procrastinating business is not real challenge. The decision is quite clear. But it may just take me some time to see that.

Ms. Red: Ok, well get on with it then. Your workaround cost you 41 minutes.

Mr. Blue: Scary how time flies sometimes.

Ms. Red: Yes, time flies but you're a little wiser than 41 minutes ago.

Mr. Blue: Not really. I would call that "loser mentality".

Ms. Red: Indeed. There's enough losers in this world. We don't need another!

Tony Robbins puts it in a very eloquent way. Tony, you are the man!

"You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully...I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret...For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent."