Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

What makes an expert and expert?

There are a lot of people that seem to be experts, people who in fact call themselves experts, that have studied and experimented and gathered enough life experience to be really and truly proficient in something.

There are other people who talk and even act as if they were experts, but have never had formal training in the subject at hand.

Given that both of these types of people seem to be experts, what really makes an expert an expert?

I think being an expert is all relative. We are all experts in something. In fact, right now there are dozens of things that you can do (or know) that a group of other people can’t do (or don’t know). To these people you are an expert.

The next time you question your own expertise, whether you can do something or teach someone else to do something, just consider that being an expert is all relative. Even someone at the top of their game, like Tiger Woods, has a coach. There is always another level of experience to be had, but that shouldn’t keep you from sharing what you do have.

You are an expert in someone else’s eyes.

The problem with getting caught up in thoughts about the future is that the future always looms larger than reality. Objects, emotions, fears, thoughts, etc….all seem magnified when you ponder how things might be, as opposed to how things really are.

This is big problem.

It keeps you from doing things out of fear of failure. It keeps you from experience things out of fear that you might not live up to your own fabricated expectations. In actuality, fear is a very poor indicator of how things will actually turn out.

You can try your own experiment to prove this in your own life.

Next time you are fearful or nervous about doing something, make note of the fear…and do it anyway. Once the activity or situation has come to pass, write in a journal how the event went, compared to your expectations. Was the fear warranted?

In my own experience, for every case the fear was a false indicator. Disaster never occurred. In fact, I see a strong reverse-correlation. In situations where I feel fear, the outcomes often leave me feeling fulfilled for having done something worthwhile, new an exciting. Now, I seek those situations out.

Fear is no longer fear, it’s an opportunity to experience great new things.