we humans learn from others
e.g. you don’t have to jump from a fucking building to know that it wouldn’t end so well for you
EVEN THOUGH YOU NEVER TESTED IT
you learnt it from others
so we humans learn from others
and you learn from others what you’re supposed to be doing, and how you’re supposed to be doing
you see someone do something and you consider doing it yourself
you see many people do something and you DO it yourself
there are million cognitive biases around this. obviously. this is how we survived as species.
…so you see someone doing better then yourself
what are you supposed to make out of all that?
-are you supposed to quit everything and do the same thing?
-are you supposed to cry yourself to sleep?
-are you supposed to prove that your way is superior?
-are you supposed to put that person down?
-are you supposed to lift yourself up?
-are you supposed to just continue on thine course?
You’d think this is petty business, but it’s not.
I guarantee you — if you stood before a raging crowd, their word against yours — you would not look so confident
Well, you don’t look so confident,
We don’t have that confidence
We don’t really go our way
And even if we do — the question is only “HOW MUCH”.
How much pressure do you think you can take?
You’re not really OWNING your reality
And it’s ok. It’s quite normal
So you see someone doing better then you do, in some way
However you address this cognitive dissonance, it will probably be wrong
You can’t talk or think your way out of this
You can’t because you’re not them
EVERYTHING that brought them to their place is VERY VERY DIFFERENT to everything that brought you to your place
And chances are you will never switch places
What that means is that you can’t make an informed decision on this subject — because you simply CAN’T KNOW THE OTHER SIDE
There’s one thing, and only thing, that you can know
It’s *WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO*
and *HOW WELL YOU DO IT*
Nothing else matters
See wherever they are, and whatever they do, and wherever you are, and whatever you do, you’re quite stuck there
Obviously you can change a lot — but you can’t be them
And this is our problem — we look at others and we question our entire being
It is WIRED…we are WIRED to look at others
It’s not merely you “being petty” or weak — we are all born this way
And then we set on our path and it puts us in a more, or LESS, advantageous position
(and even if it’s advantageous — it could always be more advantageous)
Even if you can change a lot — you can’t really CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE BEING… not in that way
Not via this process of DOUBT and COMPARISON, which is hard-wired, but it’s NOT useful, it’s not adequate, it’s not meaningful
What is meaningful is how you HANDLE YOUR LIFE
YOUR LIFE
It is NOT a healthy assumption that your ENTIRE LIFE and BEING will change,
Healthy assumption is that YOU CAN ONLY CHANGE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN CHANGE NOW
In YOUR CURRENT LIFE,
YOUR CURRENT REALITY
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
HOW CAN YOU DO IT BETTER?
WHAT ELSE COULD I DO?
WHAT LESS COULD I DO?
Those are the questions
You look at someone doing “Better” then you
The question is,
WHAT MORE CAN I DO?
And there really is no other question
or doubt,
WHAT MORE CAN I DO, NOW?
just do the BEST you can do, NOW
do a little bit more still, perhaps,
experiment some, NOW, not tomorrow,
learn what yields best returns
do a little bit better then yesterday
see if you see better returns
it’s really rather simple
nothing dramatic
just take care of your business, and a little more, but only so much more
no drama
See, returning to the cave again… when everyone in your tribe was running — it was probably a good idea to run, then
Do exactly what they’re doing, and you may just save yourself, from whatever they were running from
And it was probably a good idea to learn from your neighbour hunting well and your neighbour-ess cooking the mammooth well,
It still is, actually
But it doesn’t scale,
Today you see your neighbour and he’s doing completely different work then you do, utilising completely different talents, and going for completely different ends…
You can’t compare
But what you can do is… do BETTER whatever it is that you’re doing
Make the most out of the path you’re already set on
And if you’re still so anxious to turn your life upside-down — please do!
But the smallest change is the greatest change
Transformation is subtle
Pompousness is only in your mind
Real change is what you do every day every hour every minute, not some grand event, like from a stupid movie
Whatever you do — DO IT TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY
Sort out your life first
Your “big changes” will only ever follow small changes
So make them small changes
And don’t worry about anything else
Do what you do the best you can, do a little bit more then that still — and that is the REAL way up