Everyone’s definition of a fruitful life varies. People allow different entities to dictate how their life is structured; causing them to misinterpret what actually brings value to their existence within the world. The greatest danger to a person is to not know who they actually are, when no one else is around to tell them so. Therefore, let’s examine the ones not enjoying life to the fullest. The Self-Doubter The sad thing about self-doubters is that nobody is in their way – but themselves. They already have a Plan B in place, even before they fully believe in and commit to Plan A. The Disappointed We are built to survive and even thrive under difficult conditions. Look at the human body. Our muscles grow when stress breaks down their fibers. They are then repaired through a natural cellular process, becoming thicker and stronger than before. Adversity is life’s very own workout session. Yes, we will feel the aches and pains. But after that, we will also feel stronger, more resilient, and even more alive. When you’re working on your life’s dreams, setbacks and failures will hit you. How can you expect to move forward when you’re looking backwards at past setbacks, failures, or mistakes? The Lone Ranger Too many people go about pursuing their dreams like they are allergic to other humans. Nobody said you have to do this alone. We need others to succeed in life. If you’re pursuing success for yourself and by yourself, you will stop when you run into obstacles that are bigger and tougher than you. If you’re also doing it for someone who needs you to succeed, for someone who has faith in you, for someone who is rooting for you – you’ll have a team. You will be able to kick things up to overcome the obstacles. It is okay to have a lot of acquaintances for work, networking purposes etc but don’t confuse them with actual friends. Friendship is a relationship that requires nurturing, time, effort just like any other. The Fatalist Successful people never blame their luck, point fingers at others or wait for things to go their way. They make things happen for themselves. They make people want to help them. They make their own luck. The Un-hungry Those who have no hunger for success, are the ones who rarely succeed. The Talented People with great natural talent can easily slip into a fixed mindset. Talent is a gift if it is built upon and shared, a curse if it leads to laziness and mental weakness. The Settler Most people want to be good at what they do, but too few are brave enough to want to be great at it. Instead of stretching their ambitions and abilities, they settle for small goals. Easily sated by illusions of security, they are unwilling to take the risk of failure to taste the reward of real success. What The Settler doesn’t realise is being good is no longer good enough. Greatness comes when you look beyond the good. The Disorganised Successful people are more organised. Being organised saves time, so you can spend time on more productive tasks, keeps yourself level headed and helps you focus on decision making. Subsequently, keeping your life running smoothly. The Private Limited Unsuccessful people tend to say things like “I’m just not good with numbers”, “I just really hate studying”, and “I just don’t think I can run a successful business”. They put limits on themselves and excuse their behavior but it’s really just a way of underachieving and aiming low enough to not miss. Get rid of the idea that you only have a specific set of skills and talents for specific tasks, stop thinking that you’re not as intelligent as the next person. What life requires of you is to make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others. To recap, success is within the reach of almost anyone, as long as they have a deep hunger to be successful and aren’t afraid to get back up after adversity knocks them down. The author is a freelance blogger. He usually comments on social issues, politics and defence related topics. His contributed articles are published by leading news outlets in Pakistan. He blogs at https://www.shehroz.net/ and tweets @ShehrozKaleem