"By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward."
― Mikhail Bakunin
this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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In the history of human achievement, everyone who has defied the odds has persisted in spite of the odds against them. That irrational confidence is a character trait of everyone who has ever stood out from the crowd.
Mathematically, though, that means the vast majority of people who persisted against the odds, who had that irrational confidence, have failed in their endeavors. History has forgotten more self-described exceptional heroes and leaders that there are grains of sand in the desert.
If you aspire to greatness, knowing that your chances are slim is the first barrier to entry. You cannot succeed without ignoring your fears of failure. The next barrier is all of the reasons those fears are entirely valid.
So my question is, is it better to be ignorant of those odds and carry forth unaware that you'll probably be nothing more than another failure? Or is it better to be aware but ignore those nagging doubts? What should we model for future generations? What should we teach and nurture in the young? Or is it better to be practical and teach them self preservation at the cost of potential greatness?