Born to lead but conditioned to loose

An eagle’s egg was placed in the nest of a prairie chicken. The egg hatched, and the little eagle grew up thinking it was a prairie chicken. 

The eagle did what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds. It clucked and cackled. It never flew more than a few feet because that is what the prairie chickens did. 

One day he saw an eagle flying gracefully and majestically in the open sky. He asked the prairie chickens: “What is that beautiful bird?” 

The chickens replied. “That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird, but you cannot fly like him because you are just a prairie chicken”. 

So, the eagle never gave it a second thought, believing that to be the truth. He lived the life of and died a prairie chicken, depriving himself of his heritage because of his lack of vision. What a waste! He was born to win but was conditioned to lose. 

Wherever you go in the world you will find one common reality, people are living according to their mental programming. A healthy, happy, hopeful society is the result of healthy, happy minds. Likewise, a society where anti-social behaviour, fear and ill health prevail is also the result of a mindset.

What creates our mind set? The long and short of it is most people’s minds are set or formed based on the information frequently bombarding their minds.

A simple way of proving this is to observe children. Within less than three years after being born, they not only learn to speak, but they learn to speak the language that is predominant in their environments. After a while, this language sets their mentality and they behave accordingly.

The point is while we are susceptible to whatever information we are given as children, when we become adults, we our responsible for reevaluating the ingredients of our minds. A great quote says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Putting away childish things is about taking ownership of your life and control over your mind. The challenge here is that most of us do not do this. For the most part, we remain programmed to accept whatever we were told without question or veracity. As such, many know very little about a whole lot.

If you are repeatedly told that you are unworthy or not good enough and you accept this to be true, your mind will be set accordingly. Once, your mind is set, your behaviour follows. Unless you change your programming, you will never accept that you were born to win, rather than lose.

Being born to win, means that winning at life is your birthright. You cannot change this fact. But unless you change your mind set, you cannot live from this position. I too had to struggle to unshackle my mind from those negative conclusions given to me about life lack and limitations. I had to learn to believe that I too was born to win.

Through self-discovery, I became aware of so much more. With new information, a bigger perception and deeper awareness, I positively reprogrammed my mind.

Awareness is the first key to change. You cannot get better or grow, if you do not know. The challenge is not whether or not you are born to win, but whether you believe that you are worthy of such a birthright.

Having surrendered to a programme of problems, fear and failure, this inspiring truth may be difficult for some to accept.

You must break down the walls of worry and push yourself past the idea that life is full of problems. Begin to look for the good in yourself and in others. Find ways to scope out life opportunities rather than its obstacles.

Sad truth is people are so conditioned to see problems, they don’t know how to look for the good. The fact is life shapes itself to meet your greatest expectations. Expectation means the act or state of expecting. If you are preconditioned to expect or look for the problems, rest assure that you will find problems. They are also looking for you.

On the other hand, if you are mentality conditioned to find the good in life, good things will find their way to your doorstep.

What are your expectations? Whatever you expect from life, life must first expect the same from you. You cannot live as if you are born to win, if you are programmed to lose.

Living born to win requires a change in your mental formation. Broken into syllables, the word information literally says that whatever you allow in creates the formation of your mind. Now that you know, you can begin the process of deconstructing and rebuilding your mind with positive information. Take an honest inventory of your information intake. Are you anxiously looking out bad news? Do you spend your day nibbling on negative data?

Many people have the habit of tuning into the daily news, much of which is negative and problem-focused. Why is this habit a part of your behaviour? Are you programmed to do this or is it something that actually serves to improve your life?

Find the courage to limit the frequency with which you digest negative information. Remember, you act according to what you know. If you are not discriminate in selecting your information, all that you consume shapes your mentality. Taking the lead in your life is your responsibility. You alone must safeguard your mind.

Gaining access to the winner’s circle demands a healthy, positive mental conditioning. Every farmer knows that to reap healthy, wholesome crops, the seeds must be planted in healthy, wholesome soil. The same is true for your life. You cannot win at life, if you are operating with a mind that is programmed to lose.

Make today the day that you take the lead in reprogramming your mind. In so doing, you can choose to win, rather than lose. Now is the perfect time to shift your life paradigm.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading my blog.

Are you Leading?

Dr. Deepak A. Patil

CEO, Lead ThySelf