Do not sell yourself out for the sake of attention and false Glory. Focus on simplicity. On nuance. Slow down. Breathe. Smile. You don’t need to prove anything to anybody. Including yourself. Think about that for a minute.
Over the past 50 years, despite the standard of living rising dramatically in the western World, happiness has stayed level, while mental illnesses, anxiety disorders, narcissism, and depression have all gone up.
We need to make better grades, to get a better job, to date more attractive people, to have cooler hobbies, to make more friends, to be more liked and more popular.
Simply being content with what we have is not good enough anymore.
As Humans, we are unconsciously measuring ourselves up against one another constantly. It unfortunately plays a large part in how we define ourselves, whether we want it to or not.
In today’s internet World, it is impossible to not be reminded of how somebody, somewhere, is doing something that is much cooler than you, and be reminded of it constantly.
In a bitter irony, through open-sourcing information, the internet has also open-sourced inadequacy and insecurity.
I am special. I am unique. I am doing something different. Look at me. I am different, right?
There is something admirable about finding satisfaction in the simple, everyday pleasures of life, and it is becoming harder and harder to do.
As they say, wherever you go, there you are. Being special is not so special. You will still feel frustrated. You will still feel lonely. You will still feel like you could have done more.
Robert Gould Shaw was an American soldier in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. He accepted command of the first all-black regiment (54th Massachusetts).
At the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, a beachhead near Charleston, South Carolina, Shaw was killed while leading his men to the parapet of the enemy fort.
Although they were overwhelmed and driven back, Shaw’s leadership awarded him Glory and passed him into a legend, with a unit that inspired tens of thousands more African-Americans to enlist for the Union and contribute to its ultimate victory.