derpyderpins
In the Service of the Queen
- Sep 19, 2023
- 1,899
Prominent people with reach and perceived accomplishments LOVE to tell others that success has nothing to do with circumstances, nothing to do with luck, and - for some reason - nothing to do with natural ability. It's all "hard work," "put in the time," "work harder than everyone else," "never give up," etc. It's a rather spiritual argument, isn't it? It paints the picture that if the successful person's soul/spirit could be implanted into any random body, they still would have been equally successful.
This helps feed the feeling of superiority, of course. If I became a world-famous such-and-such because I'm talented, well that means I just got lucky, right? I'm no better than anyone else. Buttttt if success has nothing to do with my natural talent, then I am a better human entirely than everyone else.
The truth is, yes hard work is usually required. eg., to master an instrument, you must put in many many hours of practice. Those at the top have put in that work. What they don't consider is that energy, focus, willpower, ambition, etc., the traits that make up the "capacity for work" have genetic components. They have no idea if their soul was put in my body if they would be able to get my brain to actually focus and get things done, because it's not the brain they grew up with and had their success with. How surprised would they be, I wonder, when focusing simply becomes an impossibility?
This isn't meant to just be an excuse-fest. The point is that people are good at different things, including working hard. While you shouldn't use a small capacity for work as an excuse to short-change people you owe something to, you should not make yourself feel horrible and guilty for not being able to put in the heavy grind hours like other people are.
This helps feed the feeling of superiority, of course. If I became a world-famous such-and-such because I'm talented, well that means I just got lucky, right? I'm no better than anyone else. Buttttt if success has nothing to do with my natural talent, then I am a better human entirely than everyone else.
The truth is, yes hard work is usually required. eg., to master an instrument, you must put in many many hours of practice. Those at the top have put in that work. What they don't consider is that energy, focus, willpower, ambition, etc., the traits that make up the "capacity for work" have genetic components. They have no idea if their soul was put in my body if they would be able to get my brain to actually focus and get things done, because it's not the brain they grew up with and had their success with. How surprised would they be, I wonder, when focusing simply becomes an impossibility?
This isn't meant to just be an excuse-fest. The point is that people are good at different things, including working hard. While you shouldn't use a small capacity for work as an excuse to short-change people you owe something to, you should not make yourself feel horrible and guilty for not being able to put in the heavy grind hours like other people are.