THE POWER OF BEING UNDERESTIMATED

 

ARE YOU THE UNDERDOG?

    We live in a competitive society in North America. From an early age we're groomed to compete amongst other classmates for scholastic accolades, in sports, and popularity. All of this translates to being competitive in business, and our workspaces in our adult years.

Depending on how you were raised, you've developed a certain mindset in your young impressionable years. Some people were raised to believe that they are more "superior" to others based on their skin tone, what part of town they lived in, or what positions their parents held in their communities. This is the key toxic ingredient that has lead to the decline of our society. Instead of working together, and using our differences to learn from one another, this society often looks down on those who don't think like us, look like us, or don't talk like us. Instead of collaboration, we're hyper-focused on competition, so those with the pride of their "school" or "community" on their sleeves are given an ego boost after a win against the opposing schools. 

    While competition is very healthy in an aspect to bring out the best in each other, it also creates an expectation of a positive outcome based on the previous outcome of events. This can create mental lapse of concentration when going up against other teams or individuals that we might think we're "supposed" to win against. This also has birthed the underdog mentality. An example of this is when the New England Patriots football team went 16-0 in the regular season in 2007, and were poised to play the New York Giants who went 9-7 in the regular season and struggled to even make it into the playoffs that year. I'm not a gambler, but I can assure you that the odds of the Giants beating the Patriots was very slim to none. When the clock struck 0:00 the Patriots found themselves defeated, and the underdog New York Giants found themselves Super Bowl Champions in 2008. 

    In the same year the music industry witnessed another HUGE competition where Kanye West found himself to be an underdog against the super hot and trending 50 Cent. All the hype and expectations were siding with 50 Cent to chart at the number one spot on Billboard, however when the numbers were tallied up, Kanye West outsold 50 Cent by an enormous amount. 

 

    

    My personal experience with being an underdog is an interesting one. I have always noticed that there has been outside expectations from others for me to be "famous" in the music industry, and to even be involved in illegal gang activity based on my appearance. On the flip side, others from the same cultural background projected their expectations onto me to a square pushover who was not "down" with the culture because I happened to go to school in a predominately caucasian school district. Others from backgrounds including business and law didn't even acknowledge my presence in spaces used to teach about such subjects. These arrogant people usually end up with a silly expression on their faces when they find that I am actually more knowledgeable than they are on various subjects in both fields. It is usually egotistical liberal minded people that can't fathom a dark skinned man that didn't come from a similar background as them, knowing more than them, let alone being able to teach them about subjects that they have no knowledge on themselves. Their false sense of superiority has failed them and the interaction usually ends abruptly as it should. 

    Stereotypes have shaped a gullible society into believing that there is a superior cultural group when it comes to various different subjects and activities. A couple examples of these goofy stereotypes are that so called black men didn't have the leadership skills to play quarterback at a pro level, and that white men can't jump.

    When you don't fit in the boxes that society forms, it triggers the box makers. It's usually the people who don't have a lick of talent in the areas that the people they underestimate do, that make the smallest box. When popularity meets unfamiliarity anything can happen. It is easy for someone who is "expected" to win to drop their guard and not put forth the maximum effort necessary to win. The fire of the underdog is fueled by their expectation to lose. This can often lead the underdog to prepare more, to train or study harder to achieve victory in whatever situation they face. It is an indescribable feeling to win when the majority of people, including the people closest to you, expect you to lose. It is a forever changing experience so I enjoy being underestimated in spaces where it is not likely for me to succeed. The bravery it takes to venture into those spaces and put forth maximum effort should be applauded by itself but I'm no fan of participation trophies. Getting the "W" when against all odds is the goal. If you have experienced being the underdog in the past, or if you're in a situation where you are currently an underdog feel free to leave your story in the comments. I am rooting for you to pull off the upset! Be the best

written by Angelo Taylor

for G Bound Republic

Private Trust Organization