Isn’t it fascinating?
We’re so stubborn and recalcitrant and combative — even when we KNOW we’re wrong
And yet,
When we actually believe something, and for once for good reason, and for once it’s the RIGHT THING — we’re still too WEAK and PATHETIC to STAND for the truth, to stand for ourselves
This is obviously true, isn’t it
We all know stubborn people, who refuse to admit to being wrong, EVER
In fact, most people are quite reluctant to admit being wrong
EVEN THOUGH it’s the BEST THING they can do for themselves. It’s a BLESSING, to learn you can DO SOMETHING BETTER
Stop smashing your fucking head against the wall
And likewise,
We all know weak people, in truth we know nothing but weak people
Who compromised on what they WANTED to be, on what they WANTED to do
You ask them what they want to do — they give you some BS excuse
Then they resume watching TV
So it’s not mutually exclusive, is it
You can be a stubborn cunt when you’re dead wrong,
And then still be weak, be shy, when it comes to defend something that actually matters
It’s utterly upside-down, isn’t it
And why is that so…?
The common denominator of those two failures is ego,
and expediency
If you value your EGO more than your outcomes, your improvements, and everything that truth entails — then you’ll choose your ego, and be a stubborn cunt
AND if you value your short term comfort,
perhaps even as short term as just this very moment of your life, the length of uttering just those two or three sentences CONVEYING WHAT YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE,
if you value your short term comfort MORE than you value your LIFELONG VALUES,
then of course you’ll choose your short-term comfort
The values can wait
The ideals can wait
And you know what I think?
We don’t really have values
We don’t really have ideals
Not 99% of us
We only appear to have them — when they ALIGN with our interests. Preferably short-term interests
If there’s any conflict, any dissonance — we abandon our values
And I’m not even saying this in a judgemental way
I wouldn’t judge a baby, or an animal
That’s what you are, before you develop values
And not every baby gets to grow up
I would only trust someone with their values if they PAID FOR IT
Indeed it’s only WHAT WE PAID FOR — which reveals our values, preferences
Furthermore, the price would have to be steep
Because if it’s not — then it can be MATCHED, and EXCEEDED,
How much you value something is reflected in how much you paid for it
If someone exceeds that price — is when your value is being put to the test
If you reject the offer — you have now effectively PAID the higher price, for your values
And will not settle for less from now on, since this precedent
…until someone else comes with yet higher offer
So the more you paid, the more I saw you pay — the greater the chance it will not be matched
And you will not be bought
And don’t take this “price” concept too literally
Plenty billionaires only need you to validate their feelings and agree with their nonsense — and they’ll think you’re a great guy
Plenty “thought leaders” and “independent journalists” and “artists” will only be as independent as their own audience allows them to
When you “have it all” in some domain — perhaps you’re more independent than anyone…
…or perhaps you’re the MOST dependent, just that your dependency is now transferred to another domain, another scarcity, another spiritual destitution
And this is why you cave in when it matters
And yet are stubborn when it doesn’t even matter
It’s when it DOESN’T MATTER — is when being PERSISTENT and RESOLUTE and PROUD is CHEAP,
And you can say that you ‘stand for your values’,
While when it actually matters — is when it gets expensive
And you cave in
…UNLESS you are the one to whom it matters the most
To whom your VALUES matter the most
In which case — whatever else matters, whatever else is offered — is STILL not enough
You choose your values
AND
When it doesn’t matter, you don’t have to pretend
You’re not proud about… something you’re NOT proud about
Get it?
You don’t PRETEND to be proud
You already ARE proud
Proud of your values
You don’t have to bicker about that which doesn’t fucking matter
If you’re wrong — you’re wrong. You admit it
If you let someone have their way — you let someone have their way. It doesn’t matter, if it’s NOT something you VALUE
But if it is something you value — THEN you stand
You’re an inmovable object then