holistikissim

Well, that’s something I never considered before hearing it when I was in one of my biggest low moments. Maybe you have already read some of my previous articles and if not, I went through a very dark time few months ago and I happened to listen to Dr Jordan Peterson quite a lot, among other speakers, because it was making me think about the way I could get out of my darkness, how to use it properly so I could grow and maybe never live that moment again.

I have listen carefully to many of his lectures, podcasts and repeated quite often that concept: to be a master, you have to be willing to be a fool first. I think at first, I didn’t pay much attention to it but after some time, especially when I started to dive in some stuff I never tried before, his quote really began to resonate in me.

Like many of us, all my life I was trying to show the world that I was already aware of things, that I knew everything while most of the time I just giving my opinion, my point of view on things but with so much conviction, that it appeared like I really knew the stuff. I didn’t want to be wrong because to me I would look like an idiot and now that I am thinking about that, I realise how wrong I was. It is in fact, the exact opposite.

When you open your month, you are showing the world who you are and if what you say is simply wrong, you are showing that you are indeed an idiot. It is not because people are agreeing with you, that they are really agreeing with you. Some people just don’t want to argue because they have the wisdom that they know you are not open to discuss ideas and maybe accept that you are wrong and willing to listen to and understand another point of view, even if it is the truth.

While, if you are willing to accept that you simply don’t know, you send a message to your brain, to your mind that it could learn from someone else and that’s when you open up yourself to the infinite of knowledge.

Everyone, at some point, has to be a fool because we just don’t know nothing about anything. Even the things we think we know, are moving, are evolving. Which means that we have to remain open to be in a constant learning curve. That’s really how successful people are putting themselves into. They accept they just can’t know everything and thanks to that, they allow themselves to learn and grow at every second of their lives.

Whatever happens, we, you, me, everyone alive, will be a fool in life, and not just once or twice, but on many, many occasions. What is making the difference between all of us, is the ones that are understand and accepting that being a fool is a necessary step to becoming a better version of ourselves and maybe one day, become a Master in whatever we are sicking and working on.

I could give some personal examples if that can help you better understand, even if I truly believe that this is a very simple concept and that you already got what I mean.

I love sport and bodybuilding has been something that really helped me to go through darkness. It gives a sense of control over something and when we feel lost in life, it is something really beneficial. When we feel lost, we have that strong feeling that we simply do not control anything. I don’t know which one is the cause and the one being the consequence, you know, the egg or the chicken, but I believe one feed the other.

Anyway, I go to the gym and because there is that crazy amount of “I need to show off, I can push more than you” with those weird look at each other, in the corner of our eyes, no one really wants to show that he/she is a newbie which leads most of us doing the wrong exercises, the wrong movement, avoiding specific exercises because we don’t feel confident enough in front of others, etc. And I am sure, many people give up on going to the gym because of that feeling of others looking at them. They just feel uncomfortable. And that the entire point of what I am talking about. They feel uncomfortable because they are not willing to accept being a fool for some time, pushing themselves to learn so one day, they will feel like they belong there.

Oh yes, it has been hard for me. Because like all of us, I have been raised in that society where asking for help and advices makes us look like weak people but at some point, I just accepted that I didn’t know enough so I could reach my goals and asked to guidance. And you know what, it was about 2 years ago and now, I just feel so much better when I go to the gym. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I still don’t feel 100%, actually maybe far from that, but I am on my way to it. And maybe, in 10 years, I will feel like a master in that domain.

As you probably understood, we have to go through that Impostor Syndrome and truly accept it so we can push ourselves to learn, grow within the domain we are in and simply become better at our craft.

The magical thing about it, is that, you will show people around you that you are willing to listen to and learn from them. That you have absolutely no shame being a newbie, going into the unknown to be able to reach your goals and make your dreams come true. People are naturally attracted to that kind of mind-set, because it is so rare. They surely have some dreams they would like to chase and seeing you chasing yours, will make them look up to you. I believe that it will create a virtuous cycle because you will all start exchanging information, being open to each other, empowering one another.

My friend, just accept to be an impostor at the beginning, because that’s what you will be in every new thing you will start, and thanks to that mind-set, you will become a master in whatever you undertake.

One other thing I am thinking about when writing this. When we accept being a fool for some time, it becomes much easier to accept to make mistakes and fail. Because that will surely happen, it is part of the game and fully part of reaching success in everything we do. Fools make tons of mistake and are facing so much failures. So, I believe that when we accept to be a fool, failures and mistakes are much easier to get by.

I hope I succeeded to show you that being a fool is a great thing to go through in life. That my words made you understand that you should never be ashamed to show the world that you simply don’t know but always willing to learn, understand, connect the dots and grow.

I believe in you my friend. Wherever and whoever you are. I, BELIEVE, IN, YOU 💖💖💖

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