One would think being “great” at something in life would yield success and happiness. But it doesn’t. Often, what happens is that any “talent” you have (beauty, intelligence, humanity, goodness, artistic ability, etc) MAY garner you SOME success, but generally it almost ensures you will fall into the grips of some asshole exploiter/user/manipulator. Yes, you see it in the entertainment world (singers, actors, etc) but they’re not the only ones. They just happen to be famous so everyone knows their stories.
But even normal people reaching a “medium” level of success will have lots of exploiters/users/haters come out of the woodworks after them.
I had always strived for success- I did have talent, beauty and brains (prior to my car accident)- and I did accomplish a decent amount before that happened (compared to the avg person), despite it happening when I was still very young.
Any level of success came with HATERS who wanted nothing more than to see me fail and be miserable. Ex- Christina Aguilera spoke about this- that when she came out with the single “Genie in a bottle,” everyone in her HS made fun of her and bullied her. (Which was the reason behind her song “Stronger”)
Is mediocrity that bad?
Is aiming for success that good?
IDK- I’m not sure what to think or want anymore. I’ve always wanted to accomplish things and achieve some level of success- I’m not talking celebrity level of success/fame/obscene wealth or anything like that. But definitely wanted to achieve more than the ordinary “9-5.” Not necessarily in the entertainment industry- that is not my thing. But I mean “success” in general.
Hell, at this point, I’m thinking, is it “best” to achieve mediocrity? Tho…mediocrity means being a 9-5 slave, so maybe a few steps above that- to be financially free. I think I still want “medium” success in life.
Mediocrity…sucks. But reaching for the stars and failing is heartbreaking. -_-
Or maybe it’s better to be like the masses- no big goals, no big desires, but also no big disappointments or exploitation.
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With some of us it’s not a choice, not that I’m anything great, but if I’m not constantly pushing myself to the limits of what I can do, then I judge myself to be a failure. And trust me, I’m a harsher judge than anything society could ever pose to me. So, scumbags and profiteers and parasites and predators nothwithstanding, I’ll always be the gopher who pops up his head.
One of the best statements on the subject came from the actor Tim Robbins in an interview I saw on some DVD bonus feature. He says people sometimes come up to him and ask “Why should I go into acting?” as if they want some motivational speech. His answer cuts right to the point. He says the ONLY reason why anyone should ever go into acting is if it’s impossible not to.
In other words, it’s not a choice. If there’s something burning inside you to be an actor and you can’t walk away, then that’s your reason. The only reason.
The same thought works for greatness or any kind of ambition to excell. Do it because you absolutely have to. If you don’t feel you have to, then save yourself the trouble and don’t bother.
I’m not talking specifically about the entertainment industry- I was one of the few who DIDN’T care to be famous.
I only did modeling and acting so that I could come out of my shy shell- I did not want to be so shy- life is NOT geared for the meak and mild. I had always wanted to become more extroverted, and I figured putting myself into a situation where I had to be extroverted, that I would get rid of my shyness. Which it did. Wasn’t the conventional way of getting rid of shyness, but I was tired of trying every advice in every book from every “guru” and not working. So I did it my way.
Anyhow, I meant “greatness” in whatever arena- the problem I have now is that I have lost faith in ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Everything is corrupt. Business, politics, science, religion, etc. NOTHING is good or pure- everything is corrupted by money or an agenda.
Hard to achieve “greatness” now that I have no oomf and believe in nothing. I HAD that immense drive back in the day- before I became super jaded/aware of how everything in life is corrupt.
My problem is that I lost my passion, my OOMF. Once you lose that, life looks lackluster. What do you do when you don’t believe in anything anymore? You accomplish nothing and become horribly depressed is what.
And also as someone who isn’t happy with achieving nothing, then what do you do?
Thank you so much for this post. This is rarely talked among people & society, sadly. A lot of people have always told me that I’m a (very) talented musician. I compose, write songs. I have many musical ideas, but sadly, most of them are just only in my heads (& my voice recordings only). In reality, I’m nothing but a failure. I’m just a sad pathetic middle-aged loser. I think being ‘talented’ usually comes just like a double-edged sword, or two sides of a coin: it can be a blessing/gift, or it can be a curse. Despite all my creativity, imaginative mind, full of ideas & visions, & all my ‘deep thinking’ & ‘smartness’ etc2, unfortunately, it all seems to also come with some forms of ‘defects’ / ‘malfunctions’ in my personality, character, the way I think/feel, etc2. Maybe that’s why I have major depression, ADHD, OCD, autism (Aspergers spectrum), existential depression, etc2. But, people just don’t understand, & people just don’t care. All people do is just judging you.
Yeah, it’s well known that very artistic people are correlated with having higher rates of depression, bipolar, OCD, ADHD, etc. Just look at all the celebrities/famous artists/musicians/singers- most of them are labeled to have some kind of “disorder” – I put it in quotes bc I don’t see these things as a “disorder,” as in there’s something wrong with the person. Hell, I think “normal” people are “disordered” by being happy in a society that is so f*cked up. They go on about their life like psychopaths who don’t care or give a crap about anyone.
It’s like that saying: “it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a sick society.”
For me, it sucks even more bc while I am creative, I am not artistic, meaning I get ALL the bad parts- deep thinker, depression, ADHD, etc, but have NO artistic talents (like drawing, painting, singing, etc). -_-