It’s 2017 and we as a society are becoming soft. Slowly but surely, we are losing our edge. This has sadly become the age where everyone is afraid of offending one another and, unfortunately, also afraid of good old fashioned hard work. Young people are expecting promotions when they haven’t earned the right to clean the toilets yet, and dudes are claiming they have the right to take a piss next to young girls.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people living their lives the way they want, but some of this stuff is just madness. This type of mentality is what has led our great nation to its growing softness. We have gone so far off the deep end that people would rather have their stomachs ripped open and tied than eat right and work hard. We live in a time where people in the gym are consumed with their selfies and hashtags instead of actually earning respect. They don’t care about working hard; they care about creating an image for themselves where other people think that they work hard.
If people think you’re busting your ass then why really do it, right? It’s all bullshit. In reality, those people don’t even know how to work hard. They can pretend all they want, but the people who have actually been putting in their sweat equity and earning their stripes can see this bullshit from a mile away. So go ahead and keep posting your selfies to build your social media following.
Kids are receiving trophies for coming in last place and flags are being thrown for roughing the passer as soon as a defensive lineman looks at the quarterback. Our world is becoming nerfed, and it’s up to us to do something about it. What happened to the days where hard work was encouraged? When kids would come home with scraped elbows and a bloody nose from playing pick-up football in the park? What happened to teaching our children to punch that bully right in the mouth the next time they get out of line?
It seems that the further we get away from these times, the softer our society becomes.
We need to get our mojo back and it starts with our children. We need to encourage them to put down the damn video games and get out and play. We need to throw each participation trophy in the trash and teach them that in life we aren't entitled to shit. I believe that adults must do our part and lead our children by example. Let them see your hands covered with chalk, blood, and your shirt drenched in sweat. Show them what it’s like to work for something, and that we shouldn’t get rewarded for a half-assed effort and coming in last place.
A lot of people need a reality check. Most wake up, work, watch TV, sleep, and repeat. They hate their jobs, they’re uninspired, they're unmotivated, and they just merely exist. Join a martial arts class. Play in a soccer league. Learn to play an instrument. Do something!
When you live life by going through the motions, you forget what it’s like to suck at something and have to earn your way to get better at it. We forget what it’s like to have to start at the bottom and work our way up, through hard goddamn work.
And that’s aside from training. Everyone should train. It should be a staple in your daily routine. Physical fitness obviously plays a huge roll in overall well-being, but it also keeps your ego in check. Training is a constant reminder that we must work for everything we have and that nothing comes easy. Every time we’re tired or just feel like bagging a workout but man the fuck up and do it anyway, a very valuable lesson is learned. We learn that there are days where we just aren’t feeling up to doing what we have to do, but by doing it anyway we make progress and move forward in our lives.
Don’t feel like starting that project? Not in the mood to write that report? Not the right time to open your business?
DO IT ANYWAY!
Because the time may never seem right. You may never be in the mood. And if you dick around and procrastinate, you may never start. Then you'll end up wasting years of your life before one day you realize it’s too late. Training strengthens your mindset because it helps you develop the habit of doing the shit you don’t always feel like doing, which helps you get more done and live a more fulfilling life. People never see their true potential because they make lazy excuses for themselves.
Socrates said, “No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
People go through life simply coasting through the motions and never push themselves physically — or mentally for that matter. People fear change. We fear unlikely outcomes and we fear hurting people’s feelings so we decide not to challenge our mental state. We choose to “play it safe” and stay inside our comfort zones, and due to that we never grow. If you want change, you've got to take responsibility for where you are in life and be willing to do whatever it takes to get better. And that requires getting comfortable being uncomfortable and doing the things that most people won’t.
Maybe you’re in a place where you are financially secure and have a happy marriage and children. That’s awesome, but that doesn’t mean you should stop pushing yourself and growing. Most people do. And eventually, being stagnant will lead to a depression and lack of fulfillment.
Growth is a key factor in happiness. So push yourself, challenge yourself, and set a better example for the youth of America. If we all buckle up our chin straps and get our hands dirty, our children will see that and it will rub off on them. It will teach them that it’s okay to bust your ass and that life isn’t always easy. If we harden up ourselves we can harden up those around us.
Life will sometimes kick us in the teeth, and we just need to be reminded that we have the ability to kick it right back. External circumstances are not always in our control, but our mindset is. We can control our thoughts, which can either lead us to pissing and moaning, or to learning a valuable lesson and moving forward.
We can complain about the direction our great nation is headed or we can do our part in helping get our swagger back. This is the greatest country in the world and the best time to be alive. Some of us just need to toughen the fuck up and do what we can in strengthening those around us by leading by example. That is, in fact, what gave us our edge in the first place. Let’s make it a habit to get better in some way, every day, for the rest of our lives. Live relentlessly.
