The Limits of Our Possibilities

As a teenager, I spent a lot of time reading self-help and motivation books. While my peers were still in their comic book collection phase, I was drinking in positive words of strength from the likes of Norman Vincent Peale, Dale Carnegie and Denis Waitley. I grew tired of all these books by the time I was 19 - they all seemed to say the same thing.

Looking back, this habit of reading motivation books early on in my life, had a positive impact on me. I really bought into the phrase: "Whatever your mind can perceive and believe, you can achieve". It guided my life and my sense of possibilities.

I was not going to be limited by so-called objective opinions, of what was possible. I refused to conform to the so-called public opinion, of what was achievable and "how things work" in life and in this country.

I've always felt that the biggest barrier to superior achievement in anything, is to listen to people who are average and mediocre - those who refuse to believe in anything, those who are too afraid to strive, those who never makes mistakes, those who cling on to security, those who never push the boundaries, those who shall never find out, the true limits of their potential.

The average and mediocre - the bulk of those who define "objectivity" and what is possible for everyone else - they're the ones who are more than willing to extend the membership of the club. And most people eventually, (whether they like it or not), conform to the (so-called objective) limits of possibilities and enlarge the club membership of the average and mediocre.

Membership of the club, involves everyone adjusting their expectations to the common average.

It's a social programming that has been built upon a gamut of experiences, usually from the collective mistakes of our own and others - our own past, our elders, our families, our friends, our leaders, our religious teachers, people in society, etc. This is the fount of "common wisdom" - the artificial construct of the limitations in our minds, governed objectively by the imposed values of the majority who may not know better than you (or are happier than you, for that matter)

We have to be realistic, they tell us. Happiness is a bonus - contentment however, is far more achievable. Aim for contentment, don't take any risks, be happy with what you have and really, those who are truly blessed are those who can count their blessings and want for no more. Ask for less than what you think you deserve and you won't get disappointed.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained - but at least, you don't get hurt or burnt in the process. And that is one of the core pillars of contentment - don't go beyond your comfort zone, don't fail in the eyes of others and do what is expected of you, by society.

Discontented with your country? Apply a comparison, please - this country is not at war, does not generally suffer from natural catastrophies, does not have a military government, is prospering economically and is the most advanced Islamic nation in the world. Corruption, paralyzing bureaucracy and abuse of power - alah, it happens everywhere-lah. But we are not as corrupt as some of the African countries, say. So, no need to talk so much-lah, they tell us.

You know what I REALLY think? There's no such thing as great men, leaders, achievers, etc. All great men APPEAR to be great, because the large majority of humanity have no sense of possibility, no courage to take risks and persevere, and are always conforming to the common average. There is strength and comfort in numbers, even when the position and direction of the large majority, is questionable.

It reminds me of the time when the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, spoke at my first graduation ceremony. She related to us an amusing story on weak leadership, supposedly from within the Indian Government. The story went something like this:

"A politician was peering through his window and saw a hundreds of people marching and carrying banners, in protest over some issue. Disconcerted, the politician then said to his aide - "Can you tell me where those people are going? I have to LEAD them there!". :)


Yes, all men are born equal, but eventually, it is the limits within their minds and actions, that determine how unequal (or unhappy) they become. It is the difference/gap between the great and the good, and the average and the mediocre.

The majority will learn to be contentedly lost in great numbers and the minority will blaze their own defining path and fulfillment, with great challenges and in much solitude.

Whatever your choices may be - the limits are all in your mind and that shall make all the difference, really. You can use it either to work for you, or against you in your life.

To run like the wind with a few, or to stand on crutches with the majority, who have forgotten how to walk.