Do you sometimes feel that your hard work isn’t validated?
Let me tell you a story of the cool kid.
It is easy to be the cool kid.
The cool kid does nothing significant.
The cool kid is just hanging around trying to look cool.
Does things that get attention of everyone.
Anything that escapes hard work and still brings in validation is what the cool kid lives by.
Except, that they themselves know they are hollow.
And that’s sad.
Because every effort of theirs is an attempt to look cooler by covering up that hollowness.
And in a sheer suddenness of move, the cool kid does something that they were supposed to do. When they do this, all of a sudden they become cooler. Because no one had expected them to do this!
Isn’t that a “virtuous” cycle?
Friends, we all come across “the cool kids” in every setup, in every work structure that we are a part of.
But you know what?
I have never seen a cool kid being trusted.
Or being entrusted with responsibilities.
Or even being looked forward to as a professional.
We can play around with colleagues. Because their validation was the first thing the cool kid was after.
However, rising higher is always preceded by hard work. Always.