Breaking Point

We all have limits. Not only within ourselves, but also with regards to other people. We all have to draw a line in the sand. But I always wonder, do we sometimes draw that line just a little too late? Or a little to early?

A while ago someone told me a statistic which I don't believe is true but I do believe that the principle behind the statistic is true. He said "If 70% of businesses went 10% further they would be a success". Now, that really doesn't sound like a researched statistic, but it does reflect a sentiment, that if we all pushed a little bit further things would probably work out for the better.

At the same time I think that same sentiment can be turned around and used in a negative way, and it would be just as true. If we had drawn the line just a little bit earlier we would not have had to go through many of life's hardships. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless.

So, is the reason that we don't succeed but rather fail because we just don't see that we need to push on, or that we should draw the line [in the case of failure], or is there something else at play here?

I believe that if you can see that pushing a little further is going to cause failure then you should be able to see that pushing a little further will bring success, but I also believe that people are more afraid of success than failure. I know I am.

I can usually see when things are getting better or when things are going south, but I would rather face failure than success because success usually brings change, and that's something I really don't want to introduce in my life at the moment.

A perfect example is with this potential job to become an Air Traffic Controller. The idea of getting in is in most cases classified as success, but it really scares me, and I'm not sure if I should push that far because I don't know if I actually want that success and change in my life. It would be far easier to go back to everyone and say that I didn't get the job than it will be for me to go to my friends and say that I got the job and now I have to potentially move city. I don't know if I would survive that. Really I don't.

At this stage I have to define what I see as success, and then look at which decision would bring about the most amount of success in my life. Pushing through that last 10% is the hardest, not because it's the most amount of work, but because at that stage you can see the success, and indeed the changes coming, and perhaps that's the biggest deterrent.