3 ms·

I see a couple ways to become great quickly. 1. Put in an extreme amount of effort to maximize the goodness you create and minimize the amount of bad. 2. Have

I see a couple ways to become great quickly. 1. Put in an extreme amount of effort to maximize the goodness you create and minimize the amount of bad. 2. Have extreme events impact your life (by no fault of your own) in a short period of time. 3. Change how you measure greatness. Ten years ago, I could not see myself in the life that I have now. Everyday I accomplish things which would have been impossible for my previous self to do. I quit smoking, drinking, and manage chronic illness. I exercise, garden, clean the house, and play with my dog. I earned the love of my wife and the respect of my friends. I now have a family who loves me and is proud of me and I feel like I actually have options. Every day I do great things, not in comparison to yesterday but certainly compared to my previous self.

ksdale 7y ago
It sounds like you've built yourself a wonderful life. I think people really underestimate the greatness of doing seemingly mundane things consistently. All the things you mentioned seem trivial to an outsider, but over the course of a life, they make your whole existence so much much more pleasant. Investing time in a marriage, or parenting, or working out seems less important than just about anything at the moment you have the opportunity to do it, but lots of people get divorced and it makes them very unhappy. Lots of people are estranged from their children and it makes them very unhappy. Lots of people suffer from health problems directly related to diet and exercise. Obviously there are lots of things we can't control and I certainly don't mean to suggest that anyone who gets divorced, etc. brought it on themselves, but for how mundane most people consider these things, becoming a fit, healthy 60 year old who is happily married to a wife of multiple decades with fulfilled adult children is really quite exceptional. I think that would fit most people's idea of a "great" outcome, but in my experience, people don't really strive toward that on a daily basis, because the daily building blocks don't seem important. From what I've seen as an attorney and tax accountant, greatness in a profession is also more closely related to getting the little things right day after day than any sort of heroic undertaking. There's always a place for heroics, but I think most people would be surprised at how often the little things get messed up, and how easy it is to look quite competent by just doing the seemingly mundane things consistently.
- rorykoehler 7y ago
  >Investing time in a marriage, or parenting, or working out seems less important than just about anything at the moment you have the opportunity to do it. I feel the complete opposite. The only reason I do the other things is so I can be good at those 3 things (and a few others in a similar category).
zuzuleinen 7y ago
Can you expand a bit on your points? 2 and 3 are not so clear to me, but I'm quite interested in all 3 actually. Seems like you built a great life :) Congrats!

ksdale 7y ago

It sounds like you've built yourself a wonderful life. I think people really underestimate the greatness of doing seemingly mundane things consistently. All the things you mentioned seem trivial to an outsider, but over the course of a life, they make your whole existence so much much more pleasant. Investing time in a marriage, or parenting, or working out seems less important than just about anything at the moment you have the opportunity to do it, but lots of people get divorced and it makes them very unhappy. Lots of people are estranged from their children and it makes them very unhappy. Lots of people suffer from health problems directly related to diet and exercise. Obviously there are lots of things we can't control and I certainly don't mean to suggest that anyone who gets divorced, etc. brought it on themselves, but for how mundane most people consider these things, becoming a fit, healthy 60 year old who is happily married to a wife of multiple decades with fulfilled adult children is really quite exceptional. I think that would fit most people's idea of a "great" outcome, but in my experience, people don't really strive toward that on a daily basis, because the daily building blocks don't seem important. From what I've seen as an attorney and tax accountant, greatness in a profession is also more closely related to getting the little things right day after day than any sort of heroic undertaking. There's always a place for heroics, but I think most people would be surprised at how often the little things get messed up, and how easy it is to look quite competent by just doing the seemingly mundane things consistently.

rorykoehler 7y ago
>Investing time in a marriage, or parenting, or working out seems less important than just about anything at the moment you have the opportunity to do it. I feel the complete opposite. The only reason I do the other things is so I can be good at those 3 things (and a few others in a similar category).

zuzuleinen 7y ago

Can you expand a bit on your points? 2 and 3 are not so clear to me, but I'm quite interested in all 3 actually. Seems like you built a great life :) Congrats!