It is so very common for us to hear so many motivational speakers constantly telling you people to set exalted goals, dream larger than life, or aspire to own items that are way beyond your means, such as... buying a Mercedes!

There are books written, articles published and videos made to propagate this idea of constantly seeking more and more and basically remain hungry and foolish as said very famously by Steve Jobs.

My topic addresses this malaise that is being spread by these so-called motivational speakers, some of you, on reading this, may feel that I am against progress and achievements. Well! Not so!! I am not against progress, goal settings and achieving them, etc. My purpose, however, is more substantial and that is to see the youth around me happy, content, and at peace.

Let me share a secret with you people, in their efforts to motivate you these motivational speakers/writers quote examples of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or our former president APJ Kalam, etc., and try to tell you that these people had the vision of reaching where they eventually did. But this isn’t true, first of all, you need to understand that all these people when they started with their ventures couldn’t see the big picture. What they actually did was to continue working hard and remain committed to their purpose and they continue to progress and reached a position where they started getting noticed and admired. For ease of understanding let me put these thoughts in pointers.

1. Everybody who becomes great or achieves greater goals starts small.

2. When you start you can not see the entire path ahead and don’t have a clear picture, however, as you progress, your path becomes clearer and goals crystalised

3. All such successful people remain committed in spite of all the difficulties and problems they face. This steadfastness is what makes them successful

4. Mr. APJ Kalam didn’t know when he started his career, that one day he would become the President of our country, so was the case with other successful people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.

So what I mean??

The Point is very simple and since I don’t intend to make this blog a heavily worded article, I would like to summarise it as such….

1. You don’t need motivational speakers to tell you to set high goals and start working on them from now onwards

2. What you can rather do is, to just focus on what you have at hand with complete dedication, energy, and enthusiasm

3. The progress will come gradually since the law of Karma is eternal and would always work

4. Leave the rest to destiny if you believe in any, because I do, what has to come to you will come provided you are doing what you are supposed to do

The sense of inadequacy- Another problem with motivational speeches:

My other problem with these so-called motivational speakers is that they create a sense of inadequacy in their audience and make them feel extremely small- yes! You heard me right, they make you feel small!!

This is what they do to you:

1. They tell you what you don’t have, irrespective of whether you need it or not, such as buying a Mercedes

2. They also tell you what you don’t or can’t do or are not doing and then will set some exalted standards for you to follow some unachievable routine to adhere to and pursue goals that are unattainable

3. This results in a constant sense of inadequacy and feeling of lacking which eventually fills you with the feeling of guilt

4. You start losing confidence and your self-esteem starts going down. You get into the pattern of constantly blaming yourself

5. Some of you, however, go to the other extreme where you are constantly looking for more videos/ inputs on personality development/ motivation and get hooked on seeing more and more without actually acting on anything

6. This continued search for something better in “motivation” makes you waste a time without giving you any tangible results

What is then my suggestion to you:

1. Set goals that align with your skill sets, aptitude, background, and present mindset. Don’t go setting your goals by what others expect you to do, or what you feel others will approve of or get impressed with.

2. Take small steps towards your goals, work hard and just focus on giving your best to what is at hand

3. The law of Karma always works i.e., cause and effect. If you put in efforts, then rest assured you will get the result. Thus, the idea should only be to put efforts in the right direction and success will follow

4. Don’t feel pressured for setting long-term goals, just say that I believe in working each day at a time. Nobody knows what will happen in the long run. Just have the direction right and your goals and destination will appear themselves

5. The bottom line is to be happy in life and the exact opposite is what the motivational videos/ books do. Be content with what you have, a lot even don’t have that much, and, enjoy every bit of it

6. Do aspire to grow, progress, and evolve, in fact, is every human beings’ responsibility but don’t let that become something that will make you unhappy!!

The bottom line, my friends is, don’t fall prey to these motivational videos/ speeches/articles. People who become successful, are often asked the secret of their success, and out of compulsion, they say things that sound nice, whereas, the fact is that they only remained focused and committed to what they were doing then and eventually their diligence and commitment paid success to them. Just set small goals, put in your efforts, achieve them, celebrate and then again set another small goal. Let the process continue and in the long run, you may too become as successful as some you admire.