Top Gun, eh?
No, I'm not referencing the famous 86' Tom Cruise movie! So, what the heck am I talking about?
Ever go from being the best to just being... normal? No? Maybe? Kinda? Sorta? Well, let me jog that memory.
Let's go back to those days in Junior High (Dang, must feel like ages ago)! Some of you may remember feeling as that song goes, "the ish," the last year of Jr. High. But remember entering High School as a freshmen? Felt like you were starting all over again and back at the bottom of totem pole. You were no longer top gun. Or what about a job promotion? The job you may have been doing for a while seems so much easier than the the job you just got promoted to. Its a transition that can be compared to a big fish who is transferred from a pond to a lake. No longer the big fish in a little pond, but a guppy in a big lake.
Right before I entered college my boss had told me or shall I say, tried to warn me about this very same situation. He's like, "You may be a great student, perhaps one of the top, but when you get to college that will no longer be the case. You'll encounter students that will posses the same drive and maybe be better than you." Did my butt listen? Psh, no! As a senior in high school I thought I had it all figured out and I thought to myself, "I know what I'm working with and this next level will be a cinch." Cocky, right? Well, at the time I called it confidence, but perhaps it was a combination of both. In end, when I did start college, I quickly grasp that maybe..just maybe he was on to something.
Both the competition and stakes were a lot higher in college than in high school. This adjustment was hard to adapt to in itself, but perhaps even harder (at least for me) was grasping the idea that I was no longer the best. It came as a big blow to my ego and I remember struggling with that idea to the point where I was in denial at first, and because of this, it took me a bit longer to adjust than my peers. Pride, you can certainly blind us at times! It wasn't until I finally came out of the denial phase that I started to get the hang of my new environment.
Let's go back to the fish analogy. When you have a pet fish and it gets too big for its tank, the first thing you would do is switch it out of its small living space to a bigger one. Why? Duh KapOw... one, the fish will be uncomfortable and two, it can die! Exactly!
Huh?
Pretend you're a cute or hot fish (sorry, reminds me of Sharktale and Lola) and have grown accustom to your tank. Although you know you have outgrown your tank and its time to be promoted to a brand spankin' new tank, you may not want too. Why? Comfort & fear.
It's normal to feel safe and secure with environments and people we are familiar with- home, workplace, family, friends, and even your routine in life! It's what we have grown to feel comfortable with, but sometimes, because it is so gosh darn comfortable, it can hinder us from growing. How? We may cling to the past, people or our routine because we are unsure of what the next step may bring. The uncertainty of the new environment that you may place yourself in may not be as easy or as comfortable as your old environment at first. No one likes to start over and be at the bottom because it means struggling. Heck, everyone would love to always be at the top, but in reality if you don't venture out of your environment and are willing to place yourself at the bottom you'll never grow. It can lead us to miss opportunities and can lead us to take a longer path in order to reach our dreams.
All in all, although you may want to be the top gun at all times, you must remember that being top gun also means that at one point you were at the bottom (very few start at the top).Yes, it takes time to adapt, and learn and it can be frustrating at times, but keep in mind that eventually you'll return to feeling like a top gun. Like a fish, we too need to sometimes be transferred from a small tank to a bigger one in order to achieve the next big thing!!
:0)
