259

You have so much left to give.

Don’t waste it.

258

Paradoxically, our greatest moments where we feel we have abundant creativity and boundless freedom are when we specifically impose constraints on our thought, on our feelings, and our conceptions of right and wrong. A sense of freedom is primarily perceived when we are able to control our fate beyond the weight of our circumstances—when our actions directly impact the outcome of events in our lives. And when we feel trapped amidst suffering and mired in uncontrollable chaos, it is because we have lost control; it is because the floodgates of circumstance have opened, and we have little means by which to make sense of the world around us in a deluge of emotion.

Discipline equals freedom because it reflects the underlying, perpetual interplay between reason and emotion embedded within the human condition.

The hard truth to accept is that humans cannot reliably grasp the concept of truly unlimited, boundless freedom. We simply don’t know what to do with ourselves when there are an infinite number of choices to make. We crave control—not necessarily freedom.

257

There are very few questions in our world in the context of solving interesting problems that are served well by the multiple choice question. Why, then, do we insist on using this so often in teaching others?

In the vast majority of challenges that we face, we must think. We must weigh all possible solutions equally, understanding that each have their own consequences that we can and cannot foresee, and, more importantly, remember that sometimes there are no solutions.

The multiple choice question begins with the premise of crassly removing all the nuance from topics that are endlessly nuanced. To produce leaders, we cannot hide from nuance. Oversimplifying is not conducive to anything but ignorance.

256

When you already know what the right thing to do is, you crave approval.

When you most need to focus on yourself, you crave attention.

When you’ve already found your purpose and identity, you crave acceptance.

You are not this weak.

More so, you are not this blind.

255

What is this transient misery that you impose upon yourself in this moment?

Just think—there are very likely many moments in the remaining years in your life—perhaps enshrouded by evil, enveloped by chaos—that you would be desperate to return to the status quo of this moment.

You expected roadblocks along the way.

You expected the people around you to act in this way.

Don’t act surprised now.

Don’t be ungrateful and let all that tarnish the myriad of blessings in your life.

All you have to change is your perception, and if you can’t change that, there is no one to blame but yourself.

254

Don’t think of it all as a fight against yourself, a fight against other people, a fight against the world, or a fight against nature.

But merely, a fight.

253

If we claim to want to know the truth and want to do what’s right, we must do it together.

There is no exception.

252

Just keep going.

251

Maybe I am a good writer.

Maybe I am a good cook.

Maybe I am a good human being.

But I don’t need to say that I am.

More importantly, I don’t need to think that I am.

Your attitude towards your actions, whether you are humble or prideful, does not change the quality of the actions in and of themselves. And your actions are ultimately what determines that identity—not how you perceive yourself in your mind. The label you assign yourself does not matter.

Regardless of the objective quality of those actions, it is always better to downplay the actions you do deserve recognition for than it is to be caught having pride for the ones that you don’t deserve recognition for.

250

Why? Why do you latch onto the meager, lukewarm satisfaction that comes with having pride when you’ve caught yourself in the past overburdened with the shame that comes from unwarranted pride and humiliation?

Even when pride is warranted, keep your head down. Keep diligently practicing, even when you don’t necessarily need to, and don’t claim to be anything.