In the end passing people only remember how you once treated them. Not how much wealth, infleuence or knowledge you posses. I have seen and evied at people who are very intelligent; the kind of people whom everyone would want to work with, one whom you can always rely on. Howvever, a knowledgable person is of no good if even a small help from that person is paired with a ton of arrogance and belittlement. I belive the only way to make sense of all the good fortune you've been given is to help those who are not so fortunate. A lot of factors have influenced my journey and the position I am in now; and I know full well how it is not my talent or effort alone. I should try not to forget that.
Maybe I treat people well and respect them because I want to be remembered. Maybe I am selfish in that sense. But at the very least I am not hurting others in the process of being a good person. With those I've known for quite a while I do try to be very honest, never hiding my thoughts, and I am very straightforward. If I do not agree with something, I will say it to their face or at least express my concerns. This also benefits me as they never doubt me if I do actually agree with them. Maybe I am very selfish, I do not know.
June 7, 2025
I think I have a high tolerance for failure and that is what that has brought me this far. I have had a lot of time to fail and thus many chances to improve from them. Most of those learning opportunities are not so costly however and simply involves some dissappointment from others. But sometimes they turn out to be costly and thus the lesson kicks in harder. It's like increasing the learning rate while training a neural network.
When we learn something for the first time, we all make mistakes; but we have to start somewhere if we intend to reach near the top. There is no point in stopping after the first fall; we need to find ways to prevent the next in order to move forward. It is always better to stop worrying about what has been done and to think carefully of what can be done further on. I often think of the phrase 'An expert is someone who has made all the mistakes', and I believe that is true, if we could add on that they have also learned from those mistakes. Make mistakes in order to learn from them; Never make the same mistake twice.
May 31, 2025
‘The chosen one’ and ‘The prophecy’ are two of the most common ways heroes stories have been portrayed in great books and in movies. But should it always be the case? Is someone who is not mentioned in any prophecy or is not chosen for some particular task incapable of achieving greatness?
In the anime ‘Frieren: Beyond Journeys End’, the great hero Himmel comes across a sword entrenched in rock with a prophecy that said that only the true hero can remove the sword and save the world. In many retelling of the tale it is said that Himmel was able to lift the sword that has been stuck for many years, and then proceeded to slay the demon king with it; that he was the chosen one, destined for greatness.
However, many years later, a new party finds that the sword is still there, unmoved, showing that Himmel could not move the sword. It is revealed by a local of the village that Himmel had a replica of the sword given to him as a token of appreciation by a blacksmith. He could not actually remove the sword mentioned in prophecy. Yet he had said that ‘I am fine being a fake hero. I will still defeat the demon king. What does it matter then if the sword I have is real or fake?’. This he followed through. He defeated the demon king with the fake sword, and came to be known as Himmel the Hero.
This taught me that to be a hero, attitude matters more, especially in the real world where there is no such thing as the chosen one. Great people are those who follow through with their word regardless of whether or not they are fated for the purpose. When no one chooses you, you must be the one to choose yourself.
(Written from memory; Details of the anime may be incorrect)
May 3, 2025
