4 lines to rule them all

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Heres a visual representation of what your life looks like if you live above the statistical benchmark to the age of 80. Each square here represents one week at an average of 53 weeks per year To some this might seem morbid, but I find it fascinating, humbling. You see a box I see milestones; birth of a child. The passing of a loved one. Graduation. The first paycheck. Marriage. Happiness and sadness and everything in between all rolled into 4 lines connected together. I like to fill in each week as it passes, it serves the following purpose - acts as a reminder on how far I have to go, so I contemplate and reflect on mistakes to learn from them - helps in keeping my self aligned to my values and stick to my smaller seemingly mundane habits that will only benefit me in the long run (like staying active/ keeping relationships) - keeps me grounded on how much I do not know - a constant reminder on not to take small things too seriously as it will all eventually come to an end - lastl...
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Do I actually persist?

We often think things are happening to us and only us. We forget that the world is billions of years old, that we walk on the footprints of trillions that have come before us. 

A close friend of mine recently got waitlisted for a much awaited scholarship, she immediately lost all hope, and started thinking this is it. This is what my life is. All this happens to me. Im not destined for success. The universe hates me

She didn't say this to me directly but I could feel it through her conversation and through her actions. I sat down with her and decided to research a little bit on what options she had while waiting for the reserve list to come out

In only a few google searches, it became evident that there were people who had the girt and the tenacity to continue down the road of pursuing the same prestigious scholarship for three years or more. 

What stood out to me as I read those accounts from other scholars was how disheartened even I had felt when I heard about my friends reserve decision. Why do we not persist? Why do we not have girt? I realize that life is a pandoras box and that the future is schrodinger's cat personified. We don't know whats going to happen, or even if it will happen, but why is it so scary to imagine that things will turn out for the better if we continue down the path of consistency

Is it because we as humans are designed by God to save energy, so any effort that we are putting in that seems to lead nowhere irritates us to no end. I cant recall the study, but there was one where patients were driven mad because they were given tasks to do that had seemingly no purpose. Maybe that explains our inability to put effort into the void that is the future

Something has to give here. We should be more mentally resilient as people because that's whats required of us in this life. We cant give up this easily. There has to be more to it for the things that are important to us 

One of my aims in life is to be the mentally, the toughest person I know. (It sounds cheesy but still ) Maybe this is why this incident bothers me so much

But what I do know is this, in the game of life, everyone would prefer to have a delusional mentally tough self-believing striker on their team then have someone who's laid back and approaches life passively 

The question is, which one are you? Which one am I. 

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