Emphasis mine:
You see, son, the world is full of people who mistake passion for extremism, confidence for arrogance and drive for selfishness and ambition. No matter who you are or what you do, you will encounter this over and over again.
And all three of those attributes are being attacked by Progressives. I certainly saw that “drive” (aka, “self-interest,” that we call motivation) over at Treehugger time after time again. Think: you are NOT allowed to be better than anyone else – the striving to be part of the least common denominator.
It is not their fault. Most people, me included, have been trained to fit in. The very genes we carry have shaped us to fear stepping outside the group. As your grandmother used to say to me when I was a little boy:
“If you spit society in the face, society will wipe it off and carry on. If society spits you in the face, you’ll drown.”
And your grandmother was right — if you want to live a comfortable life this is good advice. Fit in, don’t ask too many questions and keep your head down.
But son, if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that comfort is overrated. You did not come into this world to consume as much food, pleasure and entertainment as you can. A fulfilling life is one of purpose and the meaning of your life is to identify that purpose and pursue it with every fibre of your being.
Most people never get there. They don’t even try. Don’t blame them – no one ever told them that giving up on their dreams was a recipe for misery. As little kids, they were trained to do what they were told, to think how others told them to think and to avoid standing out at all costs.
-Konstantin Kisin (“We Do Not Kneel – A Letter To My Newborn Son“)
Unless you are one of those very few, striving to be the best is hard and long-term. It can also be miserable (you probably will fail – sometimes a number of times) and lonely at times (people may ridicule you, and then if you do become successful, envious people will start to taunt you because they know they can’t look at themselves in the mirror so as to avoid what they would see – failure of trying).
Sometimes, achieving success is the purpose, some would say. Me?
Just working to be the best is the reward in and of itself. NO, Life doesn’t reward you simply because you tried your hardest – many have failed, even after putting in your best, without reaching “their” Brass Ring. What most don’t realize is that’s not the purpose. Just working hard to be the best makes you better than you were before you started.
And that’s the Purpose – simply to be better than you were.
(H/T: Instapundit)
Related: AMERICA’S LOSS OF TOUGHNESS ENABLED CORONAMANIA
Our lack of Toughness and Resiliency is enabling a lot of things that otherwise we wouldn’t stand for.
