A Recovering Cynic

Human animals are the only creatures capable of rationally interpreting objective reality and distilling thought into abstractions. It's the way we understand the world, progress, improve ourselves, and genuinely succeed in life...but can it also be a trap?

For years my efforts at change and improvement have been stifled by a rampant cynicism. I would stop trying or more often never start because I believed I was unlikely to succeed. Further I believed this was the rational perspective! People certainly fail and give up far more often than they persist and succeed. Also, guess what, I'm human. Therefore I'm almost certain to fail. Two premises, one conclusion, simple logic, irrefutable.

There was a problem though, it wasn't working for me....it seemed simultaneously true and false though I knew such a contradiction couldn't possibly exist in reality. Cynicism was clearly a flawed life strategy as it precluded the possibility of winning before the game began. Surely it was worth trying as the worst result was the one I was already conceding. But the idea of being cynical still appealed rationally, it seemed like the correct perspective.

So where did the confusion lie? The failure to make a distinction between the collective and the individual. The basis for my cynicism was compiled statistics and observations. In the aggregate things looked bleak so how could I hope for a different experience? Perhaps because I nor anyone else is an "average" person but rather an individual. The "average" is merely an idea, certainly with useful application, but also one with no concrete basis in reality. You are never  actually "average", even if your experience approximates that idea. You're simply you.

In brief I've literally been using the experience of a composite theoretical person to justify the inevitable failure of an actual person, namely myself. That's an absolutely insane perspective from which to view  your life. You're not empowering yourself or anyone else and the excuse is a distortion rather than a reflection of reality.  So how should we move forward? How about this?

Be The Hero Of Your Own Story