I’ve tried fleeing from evidence time and again.  Even though it felt good in the short term, it chipped away at my perception little by little, and diminished my capability to the point where I had no idea which way was up, and everything I attempted produced a discordant result.

Yeah, I’d rather just suck it up and honor the evidence.

I felt so much freer when I started to realize how much of my behavior is completely predictable.  I began to examine my tendencies and address them with adequate controls, rather than blindly forging ahead and pretending I was exempt from their influence.

“What do you do when everyone’s against you, when no one’s looking, or you want to quit?”

I think this is the right question to ask if you want to determine whether someone embodies their convictions under adverse circumstances.

When I was younger, I believed that ethical principles alone could carry me to victory, but as I grew older, my observations on adversity have led me to change my opinion.

I now believe that civilization is fragile, and that the ability to achieve a positive result is what allows us the option to behave ethically.  So when we demonstrate discipline and sound strategy, we increase our chances of being placed in a position where we can propagate ethics.

The easy (and long-term dangerous) way to earn trust is by getting people to like you; it’s easy to fall out of “like” with someone.

The harder (and long-term safer) way to earn trust is by continually backing claims with ethics-bounded results.  While people may not like you, they will always respect you, and that is something that translates into consistent willingness to work with another.

“How do I say the same truths that’ve been said over and over, and imbue them with a charge of magnetic resonance?  How do I embody these truths, so when they spill from my lips, they don’t come across as empty platitudes?”  

—age-old questions faced by all storytellers.

If one is fortunate and strong enough to survive the experience, I believe that the death of all hope can be an unexpected segue into unprecedented greatness.

The higher realms [of success and fortune] seem to necessitate a corresponding increase in timeless qualities (which are often the initial cause for entrance into those very realms in the first place)…qualities like discipline, strategic thinking, honesty with oneself, compassion, humility—all those qualities echoed throughout countless stories and myths.

In other words, if I happen to win the lottery, I might take a couple days to celebrate, but then it’s time to get busy learning the ropes of my new full-time job:  lottery winner.  Otherwise, it seems that any sort of fame or fortune could go to my head, and bring me a hell of a lot lower than I ever imagined.

While I’m not smart (or patient) enough to understand the math, I love the implications drawn by astronomy and physics; they’ve helped me accept how small and insignificant I truly am.

And my God is it a relief—things are a hell of a lot easier/enjoyable when I’m not bogged down by delusions of grandeur, or the idea that I’m supposed to run through life like a rat in a maze, punching holes on a ticket in a desperate bid for enlightenment, heaven, or the Promised Land.

In the face of all that futility, I’m left wondering what I’m supposed to do next, as I have a human body with human requirements, and I have a uniquely shaped psyche with a mysterious set of needs.  My deductions and anecdotes have led me to this generalized conclusion:  do my best to be fulfilled, be nice to others, and appreciate what’s in front of me.

(It’s nothing revelatory; from what I can tell, people have been saying something similar throughout all of history.)

From what I’ve seen, many people will indulge in short term gratification rather than long term fulfillment.  I believe this can be incredibly comforting for an outmatched individual, for that individual can make up for a good degree of disadvantage by exercising discipline.

They can be that rare person who is willing to enact one of the oldest tales in human history, the tale where the protagonist does his/her best to make the proper sacrifices, and maybe not guarantee victory, but shout with every atom in his/her being that (s)he is ready to receive it.