ever feel like you've gotten yourself to a point where you do good enough and good enough all up to a point but can never cross the threshold between almost making it and finally making it? i'm sure all those guys voted off of american idol feel that way about now. so this is the thing about winning... there's only one winner. one "real" winner. i'm sure all those top 10 guys will be able to make careers out of music (if they really wanted to), but there's still only one winner. it's very hard to win.
i kinda feel like the era that i've grown up in and the society that has formed my thoughts and such has been one that endorses being great but endeavors to negate losing. and i think that's faulty. winning is a rare and elusive thing. but what we've (or i've) been brought up to believe is that trying your best and doing (your idea of) your best is akin to winning. which is a good thought, but not accurate. there's a reason why the gold medal is such a big deal.
so here's the scoop on american idol... michael johns has got to feel awful right now. it was a horrible week for a lapse in judgment. with the whole "idol gives back" thing going on that means a whole lot of new people tuning in, people who didn't see his great performance last week and people who probably haven't seen him all season. so for them all they see is a wannabe rocker trying to karaoke aerosmith, and it didn't work. even though i don't like jason castro, he picked the perfect song for him and even kristy lee cook choose a good country song to match her style. the two davids were pretty locked so they could do some safe songs (but yeah, david archuleta definately needs to sing a fast song next week). everyone pretty much played to their strengths, which is great i think, except for michael johns, and that's why he left. i'm pretty disappointed, because i really like his last week's performance, i like that style a lot, but i guess over the course of the show that was really more of an exception where the rule were those rock-wannabe songs so i guess it's best that he's out anyway.
well, that's the tough part huh? you feel like you're doing good, and you're happy with your accomplishment, but there's only one winner right? i feel like that's been happening in my life too, i keep losing! dammit! haha, well, i've been losing my tennis and volleyball matches even though i feel like i've been playing pretty well. then you start thinking, am i really playing well? or do i just have an unrealistic view of myself? don't you guys think that we've been raised with an unrealistic view of self-esteem and performance? i can remember many many times in my childhood when i was praised for things that i thought weren't all that great. which begs the question, do i expect the same level of praise (which perhaps translates into winning) from all of my efforts? and then is that unrealistic?
that also brings up the issue of entitlement. recent media publications seem to think that our generation is a generation of entitlement, we feel that we deserve all that we get (and perhaps more). i agree. i think this is what we've been raised with, that if we work hard we'll see the rewards. great in theory, but not always in practice. then we start thinking, as long as i try my best i'll see the rewards, and you may see rewards, but they may not be the rewards you were seeking. hard to see the distinction sometimes. and hard to come to terms with the realities as well.
so what's the solution? expect less? i dunno. my philosophy was always been that natural consequences are the best teachers so maybe we let ourselves take the lumps. it's rough though...
6 comments:
Yo. (that's all i typed in my deleted comment).
But, I can't believe Kristy wasn't even in the bottom 3. what. the. heck.
Anyway, if you have time, try read "The Dip" by Seth Godin.
It's a short and interesting read...
(it might not even apply to your post... but i thought it may...)
I don't think anyone likes Carly.
Doesn't it seem like Simon has something against her?
i like carly. but how come she gets such crappy reviews? hey maybe kristy is on that "vote for the worst" website... okay i just looked and she is, haha. i've never really read what's on that site, it's actually pretty funny and mean and funny. still... she survived this long... she's not as bad as sanjaya last year, but she could be interesting...
Ohh...Kristy's on that website. I was wondering how she made it so far. But c'mon, don't you think this week's performance was actually good? I think Simon's right and country's her genre but she needs to not pick honky tonk country.
And funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. How doing your best isn't always good enough. Like doing your best is good for you as a person and even if you fail you shouldn't feel bad because you tried your best, but it's not true that you can do anything if you just try your best. For instance, I could work and work and work 24/7 and try my best to be the next American Idol and that will never happen because a key ingredient - talent.
I think the generations that follow us have it worse, though. A lot of them expect good things to happen without even trying their best. I've heard this about their generation as a whole, but I'm probably more bitter about it because my kids most definitely think the world should be handed to them on a silver platter.
yeah, your kids are definately on a-whole-nother plane of entitlement haha. oh well, follows the neighborhood i guess.
wongi i think you could do it.
i grew up knowing (and being told constantly) that if you do your best that is all that matters. but i am a competitive person. some say it's cause i'm a leo, who knows. all i know is that i was a poor sport all my life when it came to any kind of game. it didn't matter if it was basketball or playing cards against my 5 year old cousin. i NEEDED to win. winning was important to me. only nice guys finish last! i'm not sure when the turning point came but i realized that i don't have to win or be the best to have fun. it was a grand idea that everyone in my family noticed. i didn't get all habuteru when i lost. maybe this is called maturation. i still love winning and competing and hate losing but i know mostly, i am just playing games...for fun. i will still do my best to kick your ass so watch out.
now if this were my future career, that might be different. i don't think i'll ever become a professional dodgeballer, but i am trying. i practice as much as i can and am getting better. it's my first year and the vets have given me compliments on how i've improved. the thing about dodgeball is that as an adult, it's such a RIDICULOUS idea to be playing a child's playground game, that losing is still ok cause it's so fun!
i was told this quote by my trainer in high school "no one trains to be second best". to me this means putting in your 100% in everything, to become the best person you can be. no matter your profession, hobbies or interests, you don't strive to be mediocre, that's just absurd. in every competition people are going for that top spot and the only way they can achieve it is to be the best. i think you have to act like you are the best in order to actually get there. it's not being elitist or big-headed but what you strive for is what you can actually achieve. some people genetically have a higher potential than others but that shouldn't stop you.
another quote: "shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars" while it's scientifically incorrect, the idea is good.
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