Majority of people float through their life with a false sense of entitlement. It is arguably fair when you engage in the bigger picture, we’re all protagonists in our own story. Contemporary internet slang likes to call it the “Main Character Syndrome”. Ideally, it is good practice to believe in your own affirmations and chase your dreams. However, I am here to tell you that you are not special. The sooner you realise that the quicker you will break free and ascend to your true potential.

It is essential that as you go through this zigzag process of growth and suffering you do not victimize yourself when faced with lows. Victimhood is the mantra of our current society; and comparison is the thief of joy. We go through hard ships and look up to the sky, shake our fists and howl at the clouds “Why me?!”. We brush past our highs and enjoy them as quickly as possible. Yet faced with lows we wallow in self-pity and try to dissect the finer details of what went wrong, how it went wrong, how it made us feel, who said what.

No one likes a negative vibe, but life isn’t a plateau of wonderful days. Your boss nine times out of ten has a smile on his face, if he responds to you with a frown once, give him the benefit of the doubt that day. That awkward handshake that you’re losing sleep over, the other person forgot it as soon as it was done. The subtle voice crack during your morning team meeting, I guarantee you not one person remembers it except yourself. Even if they do, they don’t care. Understanding that everyone else is living lives just as complex as yourself will simplify your daily affairs and remove so much weight off your conscience.

I used to be that guy, the one that magnified and overanalysed every small sentence and gesture. I used to worry what people thought of me, how I looked, the content I produced, the things I said. But I literally just stopped caring. And when I stopped caring, and realised I’m just another guy, another mortal, I lived my life a little different. Years later from that point onwards, the opportunities that presented themselves to me was like something out of a movie script. Random conversations with strangers turned into great insights. Awkward moments became sources of great laughter.

Conversations became opportunities, conflict became wisdom, and above all I tuned my overthinking to my advantage. Rather than expending mental and emotional energy into minor things, I put all that energy into growth, reading, learning, and experiencing people and places. Tony Robbins once said, “Most people fail in life because they major in minor things”. What a powerful way to lay it all out. Do not major in minor things. Expand your horizons and push your limits. I know what it is like to be an overthinker, you are not abnormal, you are just more empathetic than others. You observe life through a different lens, I am here to tell you my overthinking friend that you are not disadvantaged because of this. In fact, empathetic people are known to be more in tune with their creative side, they are good problem solvers and even better leaders.

Most people fail in life because they major in minor things

– Tony Robbins

Unbind yourself from the pebbles of life and think big, think mountains, think stars, think galaxies. Yes, you are not special, I am not special, but we are unique. Not being special does not mean you cannot become special; it does not mean you are insignificant. Realise your potential, dream big, and set goals. The rest will follow.

All the best

Houssam