Quest for Security Prevents You from Realizing Full Potential

September 15, 2006 by Vishal | No Comments

We have heard a million times that to achieve success we need to work smart and not hard. What keeps us from actually being able to do this is the need for security that seems to have become paramount in the unreliable world of today. With immense uncertainties that abound in the world today, we tend to seek emotional, physical and financial security by amassing wealth. The stockbrokers, investment planners and others who have a vested interest in increasing the amount of money that you invest, work upon this fear of the unknown. You have probably been approached by many such agents who may have told you that investing in a varied portfolio of land, stocks, mutual funds and bonds can ensure that your future or your child future is protected.

The traditional definition of security is totally different. The word security has its roots in Latin and means ‘without care’. This does not point at only financial comfort but also mental, emotional and physical. The kind of security that has associations with only the financial aspect is frivolous and is something that we use to fool ourselves and rationalize. Can a rich person with estates to boast of avoid being hit by a car on the road? Does he have a lower possibility of being hurt or killed in a terrorist attack? On the contrary, he probably has a higher chance of getting a heart attack if the stock market collapses! With the strong desire for security come the tensions and fear of loosing the empire one has built.

To make the point more lucid, try and think of those people whom you know who are obsessed with stability. These people are inflexible and uncreative in their approach. They are scrimpy and hate parting with their money when it comes to buying depreciable items. They waste time in getting the best deal possible without realizing that time is money at the end of the day. They are fidgety and scared of the possibilities of loosing all the assets that they have hoarded.

Security leads you to living an incomplete life without extracting the maximum out of yourself. It is like leaving a large part of you unexplored. Shake yourself out of this miserable and misplaced need for security and you will suddenly realize that there is much more to life than money.

Posted in Success