When it comes to being the underdog, most people shy away from the title.
For those that may not know, an underdog can be defined as a “loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest” by oxford dictionary.
No one wants to be the loser.
This is understandable, and why I felt the need to write about this topic.
My name is Khala Simmons, and I am an Underdog.
A lot of you may be underdogs as well.
Let me tell you why this is one of the best things that could ever happen to you.
When you’re the underdog, you have less distractions on your journey to success because no one pays attention to the “loser”.
They’re trying to suck up to the expected “winners” for a come up.
Everyone is too busy counting you out that they leave you alone to completely hone in on achieving your goals.
To become successful, it requires a level of focus that is unprecedented, so look at the doubts of others as more free time to build.
The downfalls along the way aren’t as highlighted either.
Another reason why you should embrace being the underdog is because it builds your character.
I have become extremely tenacious, developed an unwavering form of patience, the list goes on and on.
I am sure the same thing will happen with you.
Being the underdog also prompts more innovativeness.
Even though you are not a loser as an underdog, you will experience loss (the “winners” do to, their loss just isn’t as transparent)
Dealing with loss has taught me more than any wins ever have because it forced me to get creative.
Take our social media for example.
I know this may not seem that important, but social media is a crucial part to marketing and high conversion rates, so just hear me out.
My graphics kept saving with low image resolutions.
Now granted, image quality always decreases when posting them to social media, but the blurriness on mine were more blurry than usual.
I knew that I needed to fix this problem immediately if I wanted to be taken seriously because image is everything and because of this, social media is one of the main areas where underdogs catch the most flack.
That led me to try to find another app to create my quote graphics and incorporate my thought bubble theme I use on this website’s homepage.
That worked for a few months until the quality started decreasing again, then I moved back to the first app and used different methods with a new layout, which led to me changing the layout of all my other posts, the Instagram highlights, the Facebook cover, the logo, our YouTube banner, etc.
(I talk more about graphics in this video on our YouTube channel.)
None of this would have ever happened had I not had the issue of low-resolution images and the fear of that prompting less brand credibility.
Which leads me to one the most important reasons why you should embrace being the underdog.
It serves an unwavering sense of motivation.
Our positive “why’s” provide great motivation, but they unfortunately don’t tend to hold as much weight as the negatives in most cases.
There is just something about people doubting your capabilities or just blatantly wanting you to fail that lights a different fire under you.
The one thing that ALL humans have in common is wanting to be right and prove people wrong.
Transfer all that negativity into motivation that works for you, and you will make it.
Now, I want to talk a little about the transition from underdog to topdog.
Even now, I still consider myself an underdog, but I can feel the shift beginning to take place and so can the people around me.
I have never received so many random dm’s and messages from people who I barely talk to wanting advice on this and that.
We all know those same people who were asking you why you were even attempting to reach for your goals will ask you how you did it when you attain a level of success that is tangible enough for them.
This can be tough to deal with especially since most doubters are people we know personally.
Don’t put them on.
I will be honest, I’ve handed out little tidbits here and there to those people popping up in my dm’s, but it’s never been anything I wouldn’t share publicly for free.
The same way they ghosted you on your come up, is the same way you need to ghost those calls and texts they send asking for handouts.
Your struggle wasn’t their struggle, so your success isn’t their success.
Your money isn’t their money, your business isn’t their business, your status isn’t their status, and so on and so forth.
Some may see that as petty; I see it as fair.
So, embrace the underdog, sis, because your story will be the best story.
Let me know about your underdog journey in the comments below and on our social media pages!
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