Talent and luck can carry me in the short term, but those two qualities are fickle as hell. In the long term, personal growth needs to be fed with discipline and critical thinking in order to maintain consistent efficacy. So in the end, while the choice isn’t easy, it is simple: be disciplined, keep applying myself, and ruthlessly subject myself to self-examination.
Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha 
Your enthusiasm and work ethic is infectious!
Thank you for all your cogitations!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem! It’s my privilege! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds awful! Talent IS luck, and not so fickle at all. Just a little bit of self-discipline is needed — even just half an hour a day, as long as it’s every day, consistently. If you can do more — wonderful! Forget the ruthlessness — concentrate on maintaining joie de vivre, if you have the luxury. To me, that’s the most important thing of all. Not that you asked my advice . . . I just can’t believe you’re talking about ruthlessly subjecting yourself to self-examination. Ruthlessly!!! Eeyuck, is my comment . . .
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahaha! Maybe it’s just my personal experience; if it isn’t ruthless, that leads to complacency, which leads to erroneous assumptions, which leads to bad performance. But I’ve spent a decent portion of my life around super alpha-males where performance is everything, so that may have something to do with my outlook.
LikeLiked by 1 person
i’m sure different things work for different people, but i worry about anybody who plans to be ruthless with themselves. seems to me the ONLY way that’s going to end up is badly. kind of funny, now that you’ve got me thinking about this. i’m actually at my best when i’m easy on myself. i plan to work half an hour a day, then just naturally work more because it turns out to be absorbing and enjoyable. if i plan to spend most of my day just enjoying life and avoiding stress, it’s like that gives me the space to be more productive. it must just be a personality thing. and oh yeah, i’m a girl, if that has anything to do with it, which i kind of doubt. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely! I agree with all of it, and we’d probably end up saying the same thing in the end, once we both clarified what ruthless meant to us in different contexts. I go for “fulfillment.” I like that word because it implies that I can undergo temporary discomfort to increase overall happiness, as opposed to indulging in whatever craving I have at the moment. Being ruthlessly honest with myself (not with others; a lotta people don’t respond well to it) is pretty uncomfortable in the short term, but yields knowledge that greatly increases my comfort in the long term and increases my chances of fulfillment, if that makes any sense.
LikeLike
thanks for your musings, though, they’re always interesting . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem! My pleasure! 🙂
LikeLike
‘Hope you don’t find out nothing’ to misquote Dylan.
But you are right. It takes rigour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. The trick is finding fun in being rigorous and then learning to chill out between efforts.
LikeLike
Here, here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank You! 🙂
LikeLike
May you be hired by schools as a commencement speaker. This needs to be heard by kids thinking they will be the next famous celebrity in sports or song or stage.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw shucks, Kris! I’m flattered! But I’d really rather not—I’ve grudgingly accepted the fact that I may one day have to do book signings or maybe even in-person interviews, but I’ve got measures to protect my recognizability: I plan on wearing fake glasses and a hat. Hopefully I can slide through life like Clark Kent LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
High school graduates are scary anyway. They think they know it all and have no clue they are on the edge of an abyss! And then they get married….YIKES!
You are sliding fairly well, Man Child!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps I should do a special slippery slidey Man Child shoot where I’m covered in vaseline haha!
LikeLike
I noticed one of your commentators took issue with the word “ruthlessly.” I understand the sentiment. One person’s ruthless can be more or less than another person’s ruthless. In fact, what might appear totally ruthless to you could be mildly ruthless to another and vice versa. Ruth has a way of spreading herself out on a continuum from completely ruthless to completely ruthful. But however without ruth you are, you seem like a happy camper. Isn’t that what matters?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed! I like the word “fulfilled.” Happiness and doing what feels good are invitations to being led by cravings; to me, fulfilled means being able to undergo temporary discomfort to increase net enjoyment. Being ruthlessly honest with myself fulfills me; it may be uncomfortable in the short term, but yields a wealth of knowledge that allows me to perform better and be happier in the long term.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well put.
LikeLiked by 1 person