Your ego and success
Boy oh boy, is the world filled with people that just don’t get it. Here is an example from someone whose Twitter I follow (for purposes of comedy more than anything):
To say “fuck you I told you so” will mean more than the money,acclaim,praise & fame. I can’t wait to rub it in.
This person is an aspiring musician. To be honest, the few bits of music I’ve seen from them has been lacking in inspiration. I wish them well, but look at the mentality behind the words.
Their goal is: 1. fame 2. praise 3. acclaim 4. money, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY 5. to rub it in.
Really? nowhere are you even going to mention: “make music that people will listen to or work with super talented people?” I know twitter allows only 140 characters, but I somehow don’t think that’s the issue here.
The issue here is that the little ego this person has (no different than mine or yours) needs to expand. And the way it’s looking to do that is by looking to the future as a place where they will have all the necessary adulation to make that ego balloon up. Since they’re convinced it’s going to happen, it allows for them to get that tiny bit of satisfaction today.’I WILL tell people “fuck you I told you so” ‘
The only reason I don’t wish this person success is that they will probably OD on drugs as soon as the satisfaction of fame is gone. Then what will your ego have? Hmm.
I don’t often want to deal with social issues in this blog, but I feel this documentary is so well made it needs to be shared.
Everybody knows about the TVTropes-trap. Pixiv’s “people who bookmarked this also bookmarked” has a similar drown-you-in-tabs effect, and somehow I found myself drowning in tabs of gorgeous original fantasy-setting artwork.
Which is a great problem to have, really. These are both by 六七質. And have some direct links to spring and fall.
(via postmodernismruinedme)
Source: pixiv.net
I think a lot of people are just unhappy with where they are in life. Specially young people without families, who really have nothing other than their careers and social status to fall back on in their constant attempt to figure out who the heck they are.
Well, the obvious response is to remember that none of those things are really going to tell you who you are. You are never going to find yourself in the world outside you. But that’s the big picture, and although it should be respected, there are times when you want something more tangible.
I think the problem is rooted in the way the world has turned into a crazy cash grab. Every profession is morphing into a sales job. Investment bankers used to actually invest… now they’re out there selling products. Politicians used to make public policy. Now they spend the majority of their time raising money for their party. Even medical professionals and chemists are becoming just a fancy bunch of salesmen for drug companies.
Everyone’s feeling the pressure of getting money into the business, and the concept of just doing your job because you want to be of value is appearing quite ridiculous nowadays. On top of that, everyone and their three legged dog has a Bachelor’s degree, which means if you’re not willing to play ball, you are quite replaceable.
Well I don’t play ball. If the choice is between living a life of chasing money so my boss can keep his job, and begging for change on the streets… I have no qualms saying I’ll take the latter. It’s about making a choice, and sometimes the choice you make means that you’ll have to swim against a current of 7 billion people who will step on your throat so they can make their next student loan payment. And that’s sad, but if that’s how it is, it’s how it is.
But now let’s take a step back and remember. What are you really losing? your social status? your dream of having a family and a nice house? Maybe. Or maybe you’ll create something new. Maybe if you just take care of this moment, the next will be a tad easier. Who cares, because at this moment you’re alive. And that’s all you can ever really wish for.
So maybe you’re dissatisfied with your career, and maybe you’re stressed. Maybe you’re only sticking around because you’re more afraid of the unknown than you are of spending the rest of your life somewhere where you know you will not be of any value to anyone. At the end of the day, you have 100% of the responsibility for your situation, and you may need to remind yourself of that.
Wishing is more effective than waving flags. It works. It’s like magic. Magic is simple. Magic is real. The secret of it is to know that it is simple, and not kill it with an elaborate ritual which is a sign of insecurity. When somebody is angry with us, we draw a halo around his or her head in our minds. Does the person stop being angry then? Well, we don’t know! We know, though, that when we draw a halo around a person, suddenly the person starts to look like an angel to us. This helps us feel warm towards the person, reminds us that everyone has goodness inside, and that all people who come to us are angels in disguise, carrying messages and gifts to us from the Universe. Magic is logical. Try it sometime.
Stress is killin’ me, son!
Some days can be pretty tough to deal with. I’m not talking about the very worst days, but just those days where shit gets stressful and you can’t see an end to the tiny little nagging problems you have to deal with.
For example, I was wishing today that my money situation would get settled, and I could spend the rest of my days just video editing. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with a boss telling me I’m under-performing, when in fact I’m handling my business and then some.
But the truth is that’s not the issue. I mean, yah, it can suck. But I’m stressed because stress is a part of the human condition. If everything works out and I get my dream studio where I can just make videos and edit all day without a boss, there will be new stresses. Probably more serious stresses because I’ll have to handle my own business instead of collecting a guaranteed paycheck from DaMan.
So the trick isn’t to just resolve the immediate issue. The trick is to learn to think differently. Accept that stress is part of life, and fully take on the one thing I’m responsible for: my response to the stress that’s imposed on me.
A lot of times in the past I’ve gotten angry when someone accused me of not doing my job well enough, and that led to a lot of tension that didn’t need to be there. Same goes for friends, girlfriends, roomates, family… whatever. Stress is never an excuse to get angry or hate your life. Ultimately there’s nobody other than YOU who is responsible for the way to react. And it’s YOU who suffers from negative reactions to that stuff anyway. So don’t be a dick to yourself. Goodnight.
