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Which is worse? A poll for the masses

Brian SD

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Mediocrity A: shutting out the world to protect your inflated ego, content with your abilities and your place, convinced you're great and valuable.

Mediocrity B: realizing and accepting that you're just filling in the gaps the great ones don't have time to fill in, shoveling snow that no one else wants to shovel (tm Hiraku Makimura)

Keep this quote in mind (courtesy of Mark Twain)

On my road home I came upon Satan, and reproached him with deceiving me
with that lie. He was not embarrassed, but said, quite simply and
composedly:

"Ah, you mistake; it was the truth. I said he would be happy the rest of
his days, and he will, for he will always think he is the Emperor, and
his pride in it and his joy in it will endure to the end. He is now, and
will remain, the one utterly happy person in this empire."

"But the method of it, Satan, the method! Couldn't you have done it
without depriving him of his reason?"

It was difficult to irritate Satan, but that accomplished it.

"What an ass you are!" he said. "Are you so unobservant as not to have
found out that sanity and happiness are an impossible combination? No
sane man can be happy, for to him life is real, and he sees what a
fearful thing it is. Only the mad can be happy, and not many of those.
The few that imagine themselves kings or gods are happy, the rest are no
happier than the sane. Of course, no man is entirely in his right mind
at any time, but I have been referring to the extreme cases. I have
taken from this man that trumpery thing which the race regards as a Mind;
I have replaced his tin life with a silver-gilt fiction; you see the
result--and you criticize! I said I would make him permanently happy,
and I have done it. I have made him happy by the only means possible to
his race--and you are not satisfied!" He heaved a discouraged sigh, and
said, "It seems to me that this race is hard to please."
 

Dakota rube

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What kind of mood are you in today Brian? Wanna talk about it?
 

dkzzzz

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Twain is always amusing and provocative.

Accomplishments help insecure people to cope.
Truly content person does not have an ego.
True philosopher never utters a word let alone writes something down.
 

skalogre

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Originally Posted by Dakota rube
Nice.

Does Brian live on the flightpath of small aircraft near San Diego International? That would explain it...
biggrin.gif
 

Brian SD

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Originally Posted by dkzzzz
Twain is always amusing and provocative.

Accomplishments help insecure people to cope.
Truly content person does not have an ego.
True philosopher never utters a word let alone writes something down.


So is insecurity necessary to believe you've accomplished anything significant? That's my main question. Do you need to be insecure to be content?

I think a person without an ego is neither happy nor unhappy. He's at a neutral. Which is the depressing aspect of it - how can you be proud of your accomplishments when from many standpoints they're only mediocre? Is the only way to accept mediocrity to have no ego at all?

Mediocrity is something many people are doomed to inevitably be a part of. How you can cope with it is something I'm struggling to get a grasp on.

I think I am going crazy.
 

skalogre

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Originally Posted by Brian SD
So is insecurity necessary to believe you've accomplished anything significant? That's my main question. Do you need to be insecure to be content? I think a person without an ego is neither happy nor unhappy. He's at a neutral. Which is the depressing aspect of it - how can you be proud of your accomplishments when from many standpoints they're only mediocre? Is the only way to accept mediocrity to have no ego at all? Mediocrity is something many people are doomed to inevitably be a part of. How you can cope with it is something I'm struggling to get a grasp on. I think I am going crazy.
confused.gif
I'll paraphrase what my sempai has told us before. Wife/s.o. left you? Go to practice. Feeling upset? Got to practice. Feeling lost? Yep, you got it, go to practice. I guess my point is that (I am sure you know all this) that you may just need to take a break and let your mind empty out (the mushin no mushin factor, if you like) etc etc etc Let whatever these stabilising factors are settle in a bit and allow yourself to view them from a fresh perspective. Anyway, hope you are doing well, man. I am sure some good randori may take your mind off it, plus the adrenaline surge will make you feel better mentally and physically... Look at it this way, I am sure many of us are feeling at least from a work perspective like things are not where they would like them to be. I am an examople where while I am not where I wanted to be, I no longer hate my job and do feel that while I will not be in a place where I will be able to add my note in the collective knowledge of humanity as a researcher/engineer (something I always wanted), at least I know that I am doing something that does affect many people and that I am mostly appreciated for what I do...
 

VMan

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mediocrity is relative. just because something you do isn't the best that it's ever been done before, if you are proud of it, and others respect you for it, what is the problem?
 

whodini

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Option B sounds very Tao-like and as a practicing Taoist I find comfort in it. The unfortunate part is I also have a huge ego and voted for option A.
smile.gif
I find mediocrity to be a very subjective point of view. Are your sights just set too high?
 

Brian SD

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Originally Posted by VMan
mediocrity is relative. just because something you do isn't the best that it's ever been done before, if you are proud of it, and others respect you for it, what is the problem?

That is the problem. People can place respect in undue places. Everyone should have a peak in their life where they deserve recognition. The problem is that not everyone does have that peak. Some people are doomed to repetitive "show snoveling," doing the tasks that no one else wants to do. And as long as you're moving to your own beat, what's the problem? That's where I'm stuck. Is there a problem with not being content but also not being unhappy? You may never "peak," but then it's safer because you have your own system.

Thanks skalgore. I'm not having problems, per se. I'm graduating in a couple months and I suspect the looming fear of life out of school is perhaps taking its toll on me.
 

skalogre

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Originally Posted by VMan
mediocrity is relative. just because something you do isn't the best that it's ever been done before, if you are proud of it, and others respect you for it, what is the problem?
That is a good point. I mean how many people have ever been at the top of whatever field they were in forever? Thyere is always some hungry upstart that has some little something that will allow them to outdo you whether that is in physics, mathematics, architecture, art, sports.. whatever that may be... Almost sounds like the approach of children in Japan with the Junior League baseball IIRC, where it is considered that they have no worth if they fail to make it in the team. Not a good attitude to have. Yes be hungry and fight but don't take it as all that matters. While I don't like it (what sort of engineer does random shotgubn testing? I don't buy it that Edison's work was as "clever" as it was made out to be but I digress) there is the story that Edison worked with hundreds of materials and combinations to get the lightbulb perfected. Tenacity is more important IMHO. Edit: And I am like you in that I would like to be REALLY good at what I do but look at me, I willingly go twice a week to get my arse handed to me by people 15 years older or 15 years younger than I am
biggrin.gif
 

Dakota rube

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Brian, I'm happy to hear that you're not having problems. But your questions seem to be pre-loaded to the failure side of the equation. You say people are "doomed" to certain tasks. I don't think that's the right way to look at things.

Is there a problem with not being content but also not being unhappy? You may never "peak," but then it's safer because you have your own system.

It seems to me that you're already judging your performance based on some measure of success that probably isn't very accurate. If everyone were destined to a "peak" of some sort, then that peak wouldn't really be a peak, but more of an average.

I'm afraid a person who aims for public fame and fortune is more apt to fail than one who (simply) strives for wisdom and to be able to make a difference in someone's life. And I don't think this latter example is by any measure less successful. Much of what "we" deem a success today is really just material window dressing.

You mention having "your own system"; I don't see that as settling for less by any measure. If you have peace, how can you be considered a failure?
 

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