One of the major reasons for a human being not to live up to our own talents and potential is when we have a fall back option. When we know we have to do or achieve something irrespective of the circumstances, the best in us comes up. That is what I call as – A life of “NO OPTIONS!”

Here are some examples around, which prompted me to write this. Thanks to these people, this blog was possible –

• The father passed away when kids were in school. The mother did some odd jobs to sustain. The kids had no option but to study hard and take up a good job/ start a business
• An employee is getting a higher salary than he would get anywhere else. He has no option, but to give his best to ensure he is not kicked out
• This girl left her high paying corporate job to pursue spirituality. She sold off her house and moved to Himalayas. He had no option but to dive deep within and grow in this area
• An artist doesn’t stop working on her painting until she is satisfied with the outcome. It is not about the price it will fetch, but she leaves no option to herself until she is happy with what she has done
• The husband was making life difficult for her. She was losing herself and had to take the hard decision to separate from her husband. She gave herself no option to suffer while bringing up her kids
• A friend put all his life savings in his business. If he failed, he would be left with nothing. He had no option but to become successful in his business
• A girl decided to go against her family and get married to the love of her life. She had no option but to make her marriage a success irrespective of the ups and downs
• A student at a cross road of his life had to choose a path to take from where he couldn’t change. To live up to his choice he has no option but to be an expert in that field
• Doctor tells the patient that irrespective of how busy he is exercise has to be a daily ritual else he won’t survive long. He has no option but to follow suit
• He has never been an extrovert. But his new job profile demands him to interact more with people. He has no option but to become outgoing
• If I want to build something in my body – be it strength, stamina or flexibility; I need to push it much harder and give the body no option but to co-operate
• A mountaineer energy is almost getting over, but she can see the peak. There is no going back from this point. She has no option but to stretch herself and reach the pinnacle
• He wanted to go deep in meditation, but was mocked as a ‘restless soul’ since he couldn’t sit in one place. But meditation is all about being stone like still. He had no option but to control his physical movements
• A toddler had an issue with his leg and stayed about 300 kms away from Pune. A yoga guru in Pune had a solution to his problem. The parents moved to Pune for 6 months leaving their work behind as they had no options to treat their son
• Hitting a child to scare them and make them stay shut is the easiest way to control a child. But the husband is strictly against this policy. He has given no option to anyone interacting with the child to raise their hand

I am sure there are many such people you too have come across. They outgrew themselves, their thoughts, and their beliefs. They would have surprised us. But, if we look at them today, they have become what they have become because they didn’t give themselves an option. They just knew that they had to do it, come what may!

On the other hand, there are enough people who keep looking at options all the time. One small opportunity or they are ready to jump the boat – be it relationships, profession, or for personal gains. They don’t excel in one specific thing and end up not utilizing their potential to the fullest.

Any areas where we want to grow – fitness, building relationships, progressing in professional life, growing in business, making new social circles, learning a new language, creating designs for clients, delivering a particular finish on site, etc, we must be ready to live a life of – “NO OPTIONS!” Giving ourselves a choice of going back will invariably ensure our failure.

Let’s figure out ONE AREA where we find a scope of improvement in ourselves. Let’s decide to live a life of NO OPTION in that area.

 Do you think that one month later you will be able to see a change? I think you already know the answer, don’t you?