You can't master your future if you're still a slave to your past.
RihannaRead
I used to feel unsafe right in the moment of an accomplishment - I felt the ground fall from under my feet because this could be the end. And even now, while everyone is celebrating, I'm on to the next thing. I don't want to get lost in this big cushion of success.
Interpretation
Success can feel unsettling, as it often comes with the fear of losing momentum.
In this quote, Rihanna expresses the paradox of success, where achieving a goal can generate anxiety rather than pure joy. She reflects on the instinct to move quickly to the next challenge instead of basking in the excitement of current achievements, highlighting a continuous drive for growth and the fear of stagnation that can accompany success.
In practice
During a motivational speech about pushing through challenges after success.
You can't master your future if you're still a slave to your past.
When it comes to everybody else's thing and their lane and their timing, I'm never doing anything intentional to, like, come after somebody. That will always be my biggest mistake or anybody's biggest mistake if that's their intention.
Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you.
People - especially white people - they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me.
Once you're back on your feet - if you ever make it back on your feet - that's the ultimate achievement. I remember I was in New York at the Trump Hotel and I woke up and I just knew I was over it. It was a different day. I felt different. I didn't feel lonely. I felt like I wanted to get up and be in the world. That was a great, great feeling.
Spend time with people who know how to use their days well. Just as iron sharpens iron, positive people will inspire you to be positive.
Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them.
Because IQ tests favor memory skills and logic, overlooking artistic creativity, insight, resiliency, emotional reserves, sensory gifts, and life experience, they can't really predict success, let alone satisfaction.
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
When you play this game twenty years, go to bat ten-thousand times, and get three-thousand hits, do you know what that means? You've gone zero for seven-thousand.
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.
A champion is suppose to hate to lose, and it wasn't like I was ever crazy about the idea. But I learned to deal with losing without having my spirit or confidence broken, which would help immensely over time, not just in the big picture but even in specific matches when I found myself in a jam. Fear of losing is a terrible thing.
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