1. Who pulled you to mediocrity?

Ma De's Wisdom

There is an experiment: a long-distance runner took part in a five-person team competition. Before the game, the coach told him that as far as I know, the strength of the other four people is not as good as yours, so the runner easily ran first. Later, the coach asked him to take part in a group match of ten people. The coach showed him other people's grades. He found that others' grades were not as good as his own, and he easily ran first. Later, the athlete took part in a team competition of twenty people. The coach said that if you beat one of them, you can win. As a result, he followed the athlete mentioned by the coach in the competition and finally won the first place in the sprint.

Later, he moved to another place. The coach didn't communicate with him about other athletes before the game. He narrowly won the first place in the five-person team competition. Later, he slipped to the second place in the 10-member team competition, and he only took the fifth place in the 20-member team competition.

The actual situation is that each group of athletes is at the same level as the first time.

This reminds me of my school story.

In primary school, I was the best in my class and thought the first place was mine. After entering junior high school, there were more people, and I thought it would be good to be in the top ten, so I was complacent as soon as I entered 10. After high school, I set a lower goal, even if the test is slightly different, I will comfort myself: it is good to have so many masters. In this way, I step by step from excellent to mediocre.

Yes, in life, we are not always told about the strength and ability of our competitors. So in the face of more and more people around us, we began to be at a loss, or belittle ourselves and take the initiative to "arrange" ourselves to a lower position. This may be a road that many people have to take on their way forward.

A famous entrepreneur once said that an excellent talent's self-confidence will last forever. Yes, if a person lacks self-confidence, no matter how talented he is, he can't exert himself. Even if I was once a piece of gold and lacked self-confidence, I would fade into a piece of iron, and even be willing to degenerate into a grain of sand, submerged in the sand for a long time without being discovered by outsiders.

We're great. However, it is our lack of self-confidence that has pulled us down from an excellent position step by step to a mediocre position. Self-indulgence in mediocrity is a disaster and a tragedy of life. However, more often than not, we directed this disaster and tragedy ourselves.

Everything that is easy is going downhill.

Author: Zhang Shiping

A farmer friend once told me a story of himself.

That day, I dragged a heavy scooter to the foot of the mountain. Looking at the long uphill road ahead, I can't help but flinch. I don't think I can pull up alone today. Someone must help me. When I was in a dilemma, an enthusiastic passer-by came by. He saw my predicament and said to me, "Never mind, I'll help you." Say, conveniently rolled up his sleeves and pulled open a cart. So I gritted my teeth and pulled the cart hard. Encouraged by enthusiastic people "come on, come on", we finally pulled the car to the top of the slope. When I thanked the enthusiastic person for his great help, I didn't expect him to say, "You don't have to thank me. I sprained my waist these two days, so I can't exert myself at all. I just shouted "Come on". It's up to you to pull this car up. "

The story of a farmer friend reminds me that the road of life is different. A famous person once said, "Everything that is easy to go is downhill." The road of life is not Ma Pingchuan, and it is not easy not to work hard. Many times, it is precisely because I gave up my efforts that I missed the chance of success in vain. The result is to give up halfway and return in vain.

Temperament is the most attractive brand.

Author: Snow

Is it Chanel clothes? Pierre Cardin's pants? Gucci vest? Hermes scarf or Fendi shoes? Give you a "nonstandard correct answer".

I believe many people have heard an old story: once President Lincoln interviewed a new candidate, but later he didn't accept the candidate. When the aides asked him why, he actually said, "I don't like his looks!" " The adjutant was very dissatisfied and asked, "Is it also his fault that a person was born ugly?" Lincoln replied: "A person's face before the age of 40 is decided by his parents, and his face after the age of 40 is decided by himself. A person should be responsible for his appearance after 40 years old. "I quite agree with Lincoln's answer.

It coincides with the argument of the ancients that "each phase is born by the heart". People often spend a lot of time and money on brand-name clothes, but few people are willing to spend the same energy on self-cultivation. As everyone knows, "temperament" is the most attractive "brand name"!

If a person has temperament on his face, he is far more beautiful, handsome and recognized than wearing famous brands. And easy to own! You don't even need to spend a dime, you just need to pay attention to your temper, correct your personality, purify your thoughts and enrich your heart ... invisibly, your words, attitudes and behaviors ... will all wear a fresh and refined atmosphere.

Temperament is the best brand.

4. What made you who you are now?

Author: xian ting

After watering the big pots and small pots of flowers placed at home, I often send some silly thoughts to the flowerpots:

You see, the same soil, the same water, the same sunshine, but some have red flowers and some have white flowers; Some bear melons and some bear beans. How do their seeds and roots find, identify, absorb and absorb what they need in the soil, thus prompting them to produce what kind of flowers and fruits?

I can't help thinking of the man in the flower. Under the same social environment and living conditions, people's growth and development results are different. If different seeds have different genes and different people have different talents, then the same genes and talents will inevitably have the same performance and results? It turns out that it's not entirely true. There are no two identical leaves in the world, even the same plant; Similarly, people in the world are different. Even twins may have very similar appearances, but they don't have exactly the same faces, let alone inner differences.

Whether subjective or objective, it can only affect people but not decide them. Only the ability of self-shaping and self-creation can ultimately determine what kind of person you want to be and whether you can be.

5. Know how to be grateful and start with a correct understanding of yourself.

Author: xian ting

Even if you have achieved success today, you must know in your heart that you are not alone. On your own, it may be difficult or even impossible for you to become what you are today.

Without the protection of your predecessors, including your parents and grandparents, you may still be lost in a corner of the lower class; Without the passing force of the times and the current situation, you may have been crushed into a nameless ghost by some catastrophic ship; Without the help and guidance you have met at some wrong turning points in your life, you may still trudge through rugged and thorns until you are old; Without the support and comfort of the people around you who love you, you may have been tortured by the hardships of life. ...

Of course, without their own efforts, the above help may be difficult to play a decisive role, but it must be noted that although many successful people like to say that they rely on their own efforts, looking around, there are many people in the world who have worked hard all their lives, but why are there so few successful people?

To know how to be grateful, we must first look at ourselves correctly; If you can see yourself correctly, you can also see others and your world correctly.

6. Who am I

Excerpted from Youth Digest edited by Shao.

I am your forever companion.

I can be your best assistant or your heaviest burden.

I can succeed for you, or I can let you fail.

I'm completely under your control.

You can trust me to do many things because I am efficient and accurate.

Actually, I'm easy to deal with-just tell me what you really want to do.

A few times later, I was at home.

I am the servant of all great men, but unfortunately, all losers are also my masters.

Those great people owe me blessings, and those losers owe me blessings.

I am not a machine, although I have the precision of a machine and human intelligence,

Train me and be strict with me, and I can put the world at your feet.

Indulge me, and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am a habit.

7. You can't fail

Author: liuyong

I saw a strange thing in the school sports group today. At that time, the team was practicing for the evening game. Suddenly, a player called from the station and said that it was because the weather turned cold and there were too few clothes to wear. If he stands in the cold wind and waits for the bus, he will catch a cold, so he wants his teammates to pick him up by car.

It's only fifteen minutes' walk from the school to the station. It's really simple, but do you know what the coach of the team said?

He even said, "Don't hang up. Ask him if he has a cold first. If he doesn't catch a cold, he will answer at once. If he has a cold, it doesn't matter if he catches more. Just blow his own hair and take the bus! "

I was shocked and quite disapproving. I'm afraid the coach has his reason: "You have a cold, and this evening will definitely be ruined. Why waste other people's time to pick it up and affect everyone's practice?" It turns out! You shouldn't be late, the weather is changeable, you shouldn't pay attention to your health, let alone. If you are not careful and don't care about the group, who can control him! "

This incident reminds me of a sentence said by an entrepreneur friend in China, "In my company, if a person has not been promoted to the position of director at the age of 40, he will never have to consider this position, because it will be too late to climb up after retirement. Since it is impossible to climb from the position of director to a higher position, then stay quietly below, so as not to affect other motivated people! "

Although his theory is not completely correct, isn't it very similar to the following sentence of Herbert, a western philosopher?

"If a person is not beautiful at the age of 20, not strong at the age of 30, not rich at the age of 40 and not smart at the age of 50, then he will lose these forever!"

The world waits for no man. It's so cruel that it can't even give a little sympathy to the losers.

For example, if a group of people perform a secret combat mission, if one of them is unfortunately injured and unable to move on, the leader may have to kill that person for fear that he will leak the military aircraft after being captured and cause the whole operation to fail.

For example, several people climb a mountain together and climb a cliff with ropes. If one person slips and hangs in mid-air, nothing can be done to save him. Others may be dragged down the ravine and have to cut the rope and sacrifice that person.

Who wants to get hurt? Who wants to slip?

Who can blame him for his injury and slip?

Can only blame fate! And fate is often cruel!

You must have seen it in the movie. When a horse's leg joint is seriously damaged, the owner often has to shoot it. I once asked an equestrian coach, "Can't that horse live with a broken leg?" Why do you have to put it to death? "

He said, "Of course you can live! But as a horse, I can't run. What's the point of living? "

Above, I told you many cruel stories. Because you are old enough to accept this fact, you will face these cruel realities in the future.

"You must succeed, because you can't fail!"

This is a very puzzling sentence, but it has an intriguing truth!

8. You may also be a bad person.

Author: quicksand

A child, timid. What he fears most is his moody father. Whenever he is drunk, he will have an argument with the child's mother and even use force.

The child hid in the corner, watching and shivering.

Later, when the child grew up, he joined the army and became a soldier. He was constantly promoted and finally became the head of a country. He is Hitler.

Stanley, a social psychologist at Yale University in the United States, said that no one can accurately analyze why Hitler became a demon. But what is certain is that everyone has a "magic" in his heart. If left unchecked, it will be like a sea that has burst its banks.

After the prisoner abuse in the Iraq war in the United States, Stanley conducted a "obedience authority test".

In a closed room, an "authority" ordered his men to give electric shocks to the masked man, who screamed. Of course, masked people wear insulating clothes, and the "screaming" sound is controlled by current.

The abuser became more and more excited when the authorities asked him to increase the current intensity. Finally, he even stopped listening to the instructions of the authority, but automatically increased the current and shocked the masked man. Finally, the masked man kept begging for mercy, and the abuser asked the authorities if they wanted to continue. The authorities said that this must continue.

The attacker beat the masked man with electric batons again.

This experiment was shocked when it was broadcast by ABC. Stanley believes that everyone has "evil" in his heart, and human nature is very ugly.

This conclusion is very heavy.

9. Go tell the world.

-To you, young and talented.

Excerpt from Shen's Girlfriend

(actually, it's for myself)

To Shiva, to you talented and young people,

You are one year younger than me. You are both Leo. It is said that lions are proud of lions. Yes, I like you, Shiva. Full of vigor and vitality, radiant, vigorous and bold, and vivid and beautiful when smiling. When I see you, I hope the world will pave the way for you and let you realize your genius dream happily.

And you who write to me can feel your hidden ambition between the lines-ah, the big world is coming, I want to realize myself.

How can I not be moved by this young and ambitious beauty?

I fell in love with you after reading your words.

You never hide your emotions and opinions, but express them directly and creatively. Your fairy tales make my heart beat, and I can't forget them for a long time. Different from prose, a person with a beautiful mind may write beautiful fairy tales. And the illustrations you drew casually, you are so imaginative without any art-related education. I really want to collect it. Remember to send me a picture of your signature as my birthday present. Or send me more pictures so that I can keep them as family heirlooms.

But you have no confidence! Always said to me: "My dream is so far away from me." Or "You will definitely do something very high-end in the future. Don't hate me for not turning iron into steel for a year or two. "

And sometimes, you will be indignant: "that someone's work is actually not brilliant at all, how can the media praise him so much!" " Two years ago, my friend and I came up with this design. "

Finally started to do things, so finally started to compare. You want to achieve something, but some can't find a way, and there are all kinds of trivial things to deal with every day. You can't help feeling that those people you despise have a future recognized by the world.

Hey, honey, I want to tell you, don't give up, believe in your gift and find a place to release it. Don't disappoint your talents, and don't let them get lost in your life.

You actually value yourself. Isn't it? You know your talent and care about other people's comments. A little certainty can make you excited for a long time. Although you say "just draw casually", you have Naoko Yasunari in your heart. You should draw touching pictures like Nara Yoshitomo, create some images that can be circulated (Spirited Away and Nausicaa in your heart), and do some exquisite designs. There is no denying that you want applause, but you seem a little impatient, especially when you see those poor things that are recognized by the market and sought after by the media.

Honey, calm down. Our life will be spent in such an era and world-a complex world in which most people are shaped by the outside world or the media. You have only two choices: be shaped, or participate in shaping. Whoever cannot hold his breath will lose.

If you want to be that nonconformist, you must calm down first. Who quarreled with whom there, who won the prize, who made big news ... These things that make you angry, forget it, these things have nothing to do with your creation and your career. When you enter the creation, remember that you are a person, a person's hard work, a person's silence. He who looks at other people's fields from time to time must be the slowest one.

To be a good creator, I don't mean an author or an artist, or an architect or a designer. They are all creators, and one thing is their lifelong enemies. Yes, vanity.

There are two standards of vanity-can you listen to the negative voice? You don't have to absorb the negative energy of these views, but you can consider the thinking angle of these views. For example, if you repeat the idea of XXX, can you be firm in your originality and do it better next time? Can I lose a title at any time and not care? Like the president of an association.

Of course, if you want flowers and applause, don't worry. It will come if you master the rules and methods of this world.

Yes, sometimes in order not to be hurt by these rules, we must be sophisticated. At the beginning, you will try to promote your works, you need to find a gallery to support your exhibition, you want the media to know your Excellence, and you need to open up the situation, but don't forget that these are all for your better creation at a higher level, and these things are not your purpose in themselves.

Honor is of course good, and everyone loves fancy clothes. But can you put it on and take it off? At the beginning, I started my career because of the joy of creation, but I am afraid that you will cater to something for some unintended purposes in the future. Yes, maybe everyone has to do some reluctant work for life or other reasons, but after doing their best for an empty goal, there is nothing left.

You must first understand what prompted you to do it, or you will eventually lose your way. The creator who forgets his initial touch will eventually become a technician. Although he has excellent products, he cannot impress himself and others.

You are always attracted by many things that seem easy to do and seem to pay off well. Who isn't? This is a place where vanity is both terrible and beautiful-powerful, attractive and irresistible. But you should never forget the ideas you really want to create and complete. For example, a collection of fairy tales that you have been talking about for a long time stopped after drawing a few picture books. Hey, finish it, don't stop because there is no applause for a while. God put thoughts in your head, and you can't let those thoughts die alone. You are responsible for those beautiful ideas that only you can come up with. You should be aware of them, otherwise, it is a waste of talent for you.

Yes, there are indeed many people in the world, even many people, who approach their goals faster, using second-rate means and relying on second-rate works. You don't think you need to work so hard to make the best work. You may cause a sensation by screwing some people. Anyway, the audience accepted the inferior design and made a mess.

Hey, don't be angry. Think of it this way, and you will really take shape. If they don't know good works, it's because they haven't seen good works yet. The way you resist this bad taste is not to be them, but to make these works feel ashamed and know that you are second-rate.

Your talent determines your mission, which is to show them really good works, your illustrations, your fairy tales, your picture books, your exhibitions and the beautiful world in your heart.

I'm not saying that you want to shape them, but God must give her a mission at the same time-go and show the world what is beautiful.

But dear, I have to remind you again, be careful, or be careful of vanity. I'm afraid you feel superior and have to educate others. No, no, there may be such a proud genius, but I believe that the best poems and the most touching paintings come from the heart that is close to the world and exists.

Look at Van Gogh's paintings. He painted wheat fields, countryside, pear trees and farmers all his life. Nara Yoshitomo, whom you love, is such a modest person.

Yes, consciously being superior does not hinder your creative level, but it does hinder your happiness and vision. Beauty is not utilitarian. You are going to share what you like with others, not to show off, aren't you?

Only those who have the real world in their hearts can draw the real world. A creator who keeps growing and absorbing has a real life.

Maybe at first, you will feel lonely. There will be opposition, and the people who appreciate you are just a few friends around you, so you must stick to it.

The exhibition must be held. Look at how many cans were put in the first exhibition in andy warhol. The man who came to see it is his friend. Now these broken cans are the targets of museums all over the world. When he played these arts, he didn't expect that these cans would cost tens of thousands of dollars in a few decades. When I saw these broken cans in the museum, I thought that the old man must be laughing in heaven: my joke succeeded. The most important thing for him is not that these cans are expensive now, but that these cans have really entered the museum. He created what he wanted to create and enjoyed it.

More important than holding an exhibition, never give up creating. Don't stop brushing, it must be beneficial to stick to a working density. Casual working methods are suitable for other geniuses, but it is certainly not a bad thing to accumulate more.

I sometimes get impatient and want to win my utility quickly in the world of flowers and flowers. At this time, I told myself: be calm, be calm. I hope my life is true, honest and rich, and you, a Leo, think so.

Then * * * mian: Never stop learning, never stop traveling, never stop creating.

If my life can be in this state all the time, I won't regret dying at any time.

Believe in your own way, find your own way, and keep going.

Young and talented, I expect you to surprise me, and I expect the world to be greatly amazed: Oh, my God, this man is coming!

I expect you to be happy and satisfied with your creation all the time.

I wish I was the same.

You take good care of yourself in Liverpool.

Come on, give me a hug!

10. Rusty knife

Author: Liu Zaiyi

A knife rusted and was put in the corner. This knife used to be sharp and used every day, but now it is rusty and left out in the cold. Maybe the master has a new knife, or maybe he thinks it is too old to use. After being idle day after day, this knife rusted.

Will this knife be lost and lonely? It's not as bright as before. Or are you glad you retired leisurely? You don't have to work so hard anymore. Will this knife be sad to see other knives being loved? Will you be jealous?

Maybe when I first stepped down, the knife didn't feel anything. However, it was born with a hard life and soon became unhappy. Immersed in memories, sad alone, is rust the tears of a knife?

Everyone knows that the knife is used faster and faster. This is the character of the knife, and its purpose is to sharpen the knife. Whether it is hard bone or soft meat, it is cut off and divided under the blade!

When the knife rusts, it becomes dull. A dull knife makes people even more lazy to use it.

No matter how brilliant it is, Lian Po is old now.

People say that nodding is not old. It is never too old to learn. People say it's gone after use, and running water does not rot. How can a person not be eliminated? People should work and think. If you don't work, you will get sick, and if you don't think, you will be dull. Like that rusty knife.

Are you a knife? What kind of knife is this? Is it a treasure knife or a rusty knife? Burden is a rust stain on a person. Fame and fortune can also bind people's minds and make them more and more heavy and hesitant.

If you are confident that you are a treasure knife, don't lose heart even if you rust! You don't have to give up on yourself at all As long as you sharpen, you can still shine! I am afraid that my fighting spirit will be completely lost and my confidence will run out. A knife like that is actually a pile of scrap metal.

I know you are unwilling, so please remove the rust, go into battle lightly, face the thorns and be invincible.

About success

Actually, this topic is not easy to write. Success is a word with dazzling brilliance. However, the more dazzling things are, the more bitterness, gloom and sadness are often hidden behind them, as well as blood that has been turned dark red by the howling wind. Success is a bright word, but the tears and bitterness precipitated by time are often beyond our tender throat.

I remember that chubby Ceng Zhiwei once looked up and said, "Success is a waste of bones". There are many tortuous stories behind the success of one thing, especially the success of one person. Some are about love and persistence, kindness and courage, others are about hatred and obscurity, meanness and conspiracy.

A person's choice of goals almost determines whether a person can succeed in his life. What kind of choice is the best? It's really "different people have different opinions". I'm not qualified to comment. I only remember that the king of a small country once wrote on his epitaph: "When I was young, my ideal was to manage the whole world. When I knew something, I decided to govern my country first. When I reach middle age, I think we should solve the contradictions at home first. When I entered the old age, I found that I should manage myself first. I often think that if I reverse the order of my goals ... the result may not be like this. " This is really an overseas sad version of "cultivate one's morality and cultivate one's nature, rule the country by one family and level the world" The Old King in the Dust is a vivid example. In the face of the dead, anything we say seems frivolous and powerless. All we can do is to find out what we should do from his legacy and find our own answer.

If you lose your way in the wind and rain, if you are sad alone in the dark, if you only hear the sound of tears when you are silent, if you don't know where the sky you are facing, if you can't see the smoke floating in the snowy streets in the distance, if you can't see the mottled sunshine flowing on the petals, please light a lamp for yourself in the nearest place. As long as you stand on tiptoe, you can still see hope, and success is not far away.