“If you’re the smartest person in the room, remember that you’re in the wrong room.”

This didn’t make sense to me 2 years ago. But today…

I realize the importance of this statement. Especially when you’re someone who is chasing growth.

Now, I don’t mean ‘smart’ in the traditional sense. Everyone around us is better in some domain of life. It doesn’t have to be restricted to a career.

Whatever the domain or skill is, the only way to get better at it is to learn from people who are genuinely better than you. Someone who has the ability to give proper feedback.

Otherwise, we end up in an echo chamber. An echo chamber of compliments and admiration. Or the total opposite. An echo chamber of negative comments and doubts.

Former is addictive. It can lead to doing things just for the sake of validation. The latter is harmful too. In either case, growth reaches its dead end.

Being around people who are 100x better than me, has done wonders for me until now. Whether they are from my family, my friends, colleagues, people at meet-ups or online communities, I owe a lot to all of them.

I have grown a lot being around them. Both in my personal and professional life.

I won’t lie. It is hard. So many times, I have questioned myself, my abilities and whatnot. So many times, I have felt out of place. It’s damn uncomfortable.

But then, just for a moment, I say to myself, “You’re here to learn. You’re here to grow. Check your cover image. Seek Discomfort. For that is where growth resides.”