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Why are we forsaking that in favor of a "you don't have to try so hard, it's ok to be mediocre" mindset? One reason many feel is the fact that being

Why are we forsaking that in favor of a "you don't have to try so hard, it's ok to be mediocre" mindset? One reason many feel is the fact that being "the best" often just means making some crappy corporation richer; when you start to feel that the whole system kind of sucks it gets harder to care about accomplishing things within it. I grew up wanting to be a game developer, but what would that mean in a practical sense? Working 80 hours a week and at the end of the day I'm just making Microsoft or Activision or somebody richer? Even John Freaking Carmack eventually wound up working for Facebook. Or going solo, and risking my ability to feed/house myself if things don't work out? Or working 100 hours a week because I'm already working 40-50 at a day job? Ultimately as we get older those kinds of achievements tend to mean less to us than human connections. If you hate this kind of thinking and/or feel it's wrong, I'm not here to change your mind. Just mentioning why some feel those kinds of ways.

dvh1990 5y ago
I think it's perfectly fine to say "I'm happy where I am, I don't want more". But that's not the OPs sentiment. I think that deep inside OP feels entitled to higher achievements than they have been able to reach, and are resentful of the fact that life hasn't been unfolding properly for a person of their talent. To that I say, how long are you going to nurse your ambition without getting up and doing something about it?
- bladegash 5y ago
  I think ambition is motivated by a variety of things, one of which, is by comparing oneself (or having others compare them) to the accomplishments of others. While OP is pretty critical of themselves, they’re also reflecting and asking for feedback. Sounds like they would like to be more ambitious, but need some self-confidence. To your point, I agree with you that advice like “be true to who you are, don’t change” may be the exact type of advice to where someone would be content with where they are, instead of striving to grow and try something new.
paulpauper 5y ago
> One reason many feel is the fact that being "the best" often just means making some crappy corporation richer; when you start to feel that the whole system kind of sucks it gets harder to care about accomplishing things within it. Ok, google makes billions and you make millions. that is a fine compromise by me.
pedrosorio 5y ago
> Working 80 hours a week and at the end of the day I'm just making Microsoft or Activision or somebody richer? Even John Freaking Carmack eventually wound up working for Facebook. It appears you forgot the original motivation. You wanted to make games. That’s what you’d be doing besides “making a corporation richer”. Similarly, Carmack is helping to shape the future of VR on the daily. I’m sure that’s why he does it and couldn’t care less how much money any corporation is making based on that.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  People who want to make games usually want to be (co-)authors of the game and not just cogs in an organization with little to no to say about what the game should be like.

dvh1990 5y ago

I think it's perfectly fine to say "I'm happy where I am, I don't want more". But that's not the OPs sentiment. I think that deep inside OP feels entitled to higher achievements than they have been able to reach, and are resentful of the fact that life hasn't been unfolding properly for a person of their talent. To that I say, how long are you going to nurse your ambition without getting up and doing something about it?

bladegash 5y ago
I think ambition is motivated by a variety of things, one of which, is by comparing oneself (or having others compare them) to the accomplishments of others. While OP is pretty critical of themselves, they’re also reflecting and asking for feedback. Sounds like they would like to be more ambitious, but need some self-confidence. To your point, I agree with you that advice like “be true to who you are, don’t change” may be the exact type of advice to where someone would be content with where they are, instead of striving to grow and try something new.

paulpauper 5y ago

> One reason many feel is the fact that being "the best" often just means making some crappy corporation richer; when you start to feel that the whole system kind of sucks it gets harder to care about accomplishing things within it. Ok, google makes billions and you make millions. that is a fine compromise by me.

pedrosorio 5y ago

> Working 80 hours a week and at the end of the day I'm just making Microsoft or Activision or somebody richer? Even John Freaking Carmack eventually wound up working for Facebook. It appears you forgot the original motivation. You wanted to make games. That’s what you’d be doing besides “making a corporation richer”. Similarly, Carmack is helping to shape the future of VR on the daily. I’m sure that’s why he does it and couldn’t care less how much money any corporation is making based on that.

burntoutfire 5y ago
People who want to make games usually want to be (co-)authors of the game and not just cogs in an organization with little to no to say about what the game should be like.