A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing
oscar wilde
If I asked 10 people whether they would want to grow personally, all would say Yes! Mostly!
The growth could be in any area. Financial, Personal Development, Relationships and so on. For me, I have top 4 areas of my life where I want to be successful:
- Financial
- Relationship
- Fitness
- Spiritual
So, whatever I do, I have these 4 key areas of my life in mind.
But, I was not always like this. Till my mid 30s, I did not care about any goals. I took life as it happened to me. There were no particular routines, no purpose, no energy to achieve anything in life.
I squandered most of what I earned, spent my time watching Netflix, prank videos on YouTube. My career had come to a standstill. Because I had no goals, I did not care about upskilling myself. I remained like an island, all by myself.
I did read books. But there was no particular reason for this.
I knew the world out there was much interesting. But who cared?! I knew the advantages of improving myself. I knew I had to have a rainy day emergency fund. I knew I had to take courses to grow myself. I knew I had to invest time and money for my future.
But there was a huge problem within me. This was a worst personal quality anyone could have.
Cynicism!
I did not know this at first. I never talked to anyone about my personal finance life, because I sucked at it. And I did not believe that anyone could help me in that. I was afraid that if I approached anyone with my problems, they would first mock at me and then take me for a ride.
Same thing with personal growth. I knew I had to improve quality of my outputs. But I was scared to take any help or course or a coach thinking they would cheat me out of my money.
This went on for so many years that, I regret why I had not taken a firm step to seek help. Other than being entitled, I thought everyone out there was there to fleece me out of my money. Be it online courses, personal development courses, financial investment courses and whatever area of my life I could think of.
Where did Cynicism come from in me?
I believe, as an Indian, from my childhood, I was fed with information that everyone out there will cheat you somehow. I have seen people cheating on my grandfather, my father. And this resulted in my family being very doubtful of anyone approaching us to offer help with our investments.
The media has this constant stories of people cheating for money and this firmly in one corner of my brain. This coupled with my own family history of being cheated, gave birth to this bias that everyone is there to cheat me.
So whenever I wanted to make a decision on financial investment, an online course, I always had this in the back of my mind that I was being cheated.
This prevented me from doing real justice to my future. This pressed on.
How did I overcome my Cynicism?
It was easy for me to give up my cynicism.
I spoke to one of my friends. And he too said that he was a cynic. He would not trust people with his money.
Then another friend. Then another.
Cynicism is deep rooted in our conscious. This is our brain’s way to protecting us of any potential losses, financial or otherwise.
When I researched about it on the internet and with my friends, I knew that I was not alone.
Cynicism is deep rooted in our cultures.
First off, it is good to be a cynic. It will protect you from various loss making scenarios. I remember how I saved myself from so many scam cryptocurrency ICOs because I was a cynic.
Take the following steps to reduce Cynicism:
- Embrace the reality that you are a cynic
- Adopt a positive outlook on life. Not everyone out there is there to cheat you
- Be grateful for your gifts in life, however small they are
- Shun the News channels and Tabloid news – they mess with your mind more than anything
- Evaluate yourself. Do a self-evaluation on which parts of your life you need help with!
- Look at things objectively and measure your losses.
- Mingle with people who you would like to be like
- Have a positive outlook in life
- If you know someone successful, ask them how they have become successful
- Read positive literature
- If you have to invest financially ask for recommendations from people who have achieved success financially.
- Learn to make good choices.
Videos on Cynicism:
Call to Action
If you want to increase your creativity and banish mediocrity, check out my FREE guide called: Ultimate Guide to Be More Creative.
Click here to get the guide right now!