There is a constant struggle that we find ourselves in daily battle with. Nobody is exempt. We fail from time to time, and other times, we succeed in our war. But I fear we have succumbed, and a generational torment may follow.
It is so easy to choose the path of least resistance, where we will face no short-term setbacks because it is harder to do the other – an uphill climb. That is the nature of these things, and it may appear like an easy decision to choose the easier path. But that short-term thinking fails to include the future, where we will be in however many hours, days, months or years.
I have seen this thinking everywhere I go. With my friends, with my family, with my work and with my school. You can see this characterization yourself – try to look behind the curtain at why people do what they do. You can do this the next time you decide what to do in the day, whether or not you might procrastinate and put off something until the very last minute, or maybe it is about an organization and the decision-making behind a registered student organization. Nonetheless, look at this internal battle.
I am not a social scientist and I do not claim to know the answer to why this is. I have just observed these worrying facts. Our efficiency as a society and as students have increased as we have learned how to conduct ourselves. But our productivity, as a result, decreases and we find ourselves idling on our phones, perusing TikToks into oblivion.
With many societal things, it is hard to escape from the cycle. It becomes incentivized and difficult to paddle against the wave, but for the collective’s mindset to change, it requires initiation by a brave few.
This is why whenever I come to the battle of self, whether to follow short-term bliss or long-term reward, I try to choose the latter. I encourage you to do the same as we enter this new school year, to follow the path that will be rewarding. I had too many nights as a freshman where I procrastinated and didn’t show up to class. My cocky self thought that would do and I could get away with doing the bare minimum, but as a result, I didn’t learn and failed some classes.
There is also the type who does not try, not because they are unable to, but because they do not want to risk failure. Many of these people become critics, where they are comfortable with putting their opinion out in the world rather than any actions. For these people – they may be renowned, but, at the end of the day, the change they see in the world is negative.
This opinion can be summarized in one sentence: I encourage you to try. It is easy to sit still, but it is so much harder to do. We must do this, and we must push ourselves to our limits and see what we can accomplish. You are capable of greatness and it is just a matter of realizing it.