One of the things I recently read which had a really profound impact on me, philosophically speaking, was this statement, “Life doesn’t come with a manual.” It might seem obvious, but for some reason, the meaning behind it meant a lot to me.

Suddenly I realised that life is a blank slate, an empty book, waiting for you to write you story into it one page at a time and one day at a time. There is no such thing as destiny or a grand plan. You make things up as you go!

It is such a powerful realisation that life can be anything you can make of it. Sure, some are better off in a number of ways since birth than the others and that makes things a lot easier for them but history stands proof that no matter your start point, your end point can be defined by you.

All of us are a part of this society and we contribute to it in a number of ways, making a living in the process. But in my experience and from what I hear and see, most people aren’t doing with their lives what they really want to and are simply acting as reluctant cogwheels in the machine. Today I want to explore the reasons why.

1. Self-Doubt

I think this one has to be one of the top reasons why people don’t pursue a dream career. We all have specific set of skills that are quite unique to us and I believe that everyone has at least one such thing that they can do really well.

However, to yourself, it might not seem that big of a deal and you might be underestimating your abilities. Sure, some friends might have said nice things about what you can do, but you just don’t get the feeling that you can make it into a career.

This self doubt acts as your shackle which doesn’t let you move forward one bit. In fact, it stops you from taking that very first, yet the most important step where you finally acknowledge what you have and decide for yourself that you are going to give it a shot, come what may.

2. Fear of Failure

Many people know and are aware that they are talented in a particular thing and they really love doing it. They are passionate about it, they enjoy it and it’s all they can think of, every single moment and would do anything to make something out of it.

Yet, it’s the lack of failure that can stop them dead in their tracks. Yes, we are all aware of a million things that can stand between us and our goals and it can be overwhelming, specially at the beginning. It’s natural to have a little fear.

But what is also natural is to have a little faith, a little more determination, and a whole lot of dreams and aspirations, all of which should be able to push you towards that journey you have always wanted to walk upon!

3. Other People’s Opinions

The world is a noisy place. There’s just too much distraction out there, but do you know what’s the most distracting thing? It’s other people’s opinions. Yes, everyone’s got them and literally about everything in the world.

Sometimes we have to take rarely walked upon roads in life to be able to achieve what we set out to. In a world full of herd mentality, that is almost like blasphemy and you will be subjected to all kinds of opinions, which is an understatement if you ask me.

If you let your inner voice get drowned by all that noise, you will never be able to achieve your dreams and it’s another top reason that holds people back. Take a look at history. If all the great people had listened to others and stopped, we wouldn’t be living in today’s world.