Build Your Own Achievements Without Appropriating Others

Many times we meet people who do not build their own achievements, but who appropriate the achievements of others. They use the triumph of others as their own, taking advantage of the innocent applause of others. They think that no one will discover their secret and feed on the recognition that others offer them, blindly.

The problem is that no matter how much we lie, or cheat, our conscience runs faster and will always overtake us, showing us the truth. There are known cases, and others that go unnoticed, but that are the order of the day, such as cases of plagiarism of doctoral theses, of Internet content (illustrations, interviews, writings …), or of other creations such as musicals or the literary ones.

Plagiarism hides the need for recognition

There are also people who believe lies about their identity as a way of praising how “important” or valuable they are. From the constant and continuous lies through which one invents the life that one wishes for himself and exposes it to others, to that makeup of achievements so that they seem of a higher draft. For some, anything goes in this game in which they seek to satisfy their hunger for recognition.

If, in looking at these people, we go beyond this deception and self-deception, we will probably find a need for external validation towards the person we are. A need for recognition so intense that it needs invention because reality itself does not satisfy it. Thus, the end justifies the means, and if this implies appropriating someone else’s achievement to feed on the recognition that should belong to others, they will do so.

However, all this implies feeding on something that is not authentic. The “public” does not applaud his person, does not applaud his creation. He applauds the creation of another and that is a painful truth with which he lives. The truth that his conscience screams at him every day during those moments in which the mirage disappears and the lie cannot cover the truth.

Generating your own achievements is getting closer to your true essence

But … why not create your own achievements? Why plagiarize outsiders? What better gift is there than to receive the sincere and honest applause of others for what you believe. Always having received one’s own applause and embrace before what one is and towards what one has created.

As Chillida said: “Let’s not forget that original comes from origin.” And how true it is … all the creations in history, all art is that which has been born of one, and therefore, everything that is born of one is genuine and authentic. Of course there are influences and they help us inspire us, but there is a very big difference between being inspired by other people’s works and copying them without any qualms.

Deceiving oneself, and consequently deceiving others, means distancing ourselves from our original essence. It is wanting to be who you are not. It is not striving to create and originate something of your own. It is settling for something easy, but at the same time leaving an imprint in the form of a powerful argument for our conscience to punish us.

Lying or the opposite of being authentic

These joys “false” or not authentic, do not last long and their days are numbered. Any lie, after all, is reckless. It covers very little and the usual thing is that it ends up falling, thus exposing the impostor, who on many occasions has to lie again to avoid being exposed.

Building your own achievements, and generating them from you, will make you gain in authenticity. It will bring you closer to who you are, with your lights and with your shadows. The product that you generate will be yours, and it will be born from your most genuine being. You will make truth and it will set you free. Free from having to deceive, free from having to hide, free from the burden of holding something that is not yours. Plus, it will give you a powerful reason to be proud.

And, as the great Freddy Mercury said with all the simplicity in the world …

But above all to be genuine is to succeed with yourself. There is no greater triumph than pursuing the true essence of who you are!