Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Easy Life


Is it a curse or a blessing to find out things in life come easily to you?
There are some people who work to the bone for a measly bread and crumbs meal. Maybe they work half their lives to finally buy a brand new car—the first new car they’ve ever owned, and perhaps the only new car they will ever own. And buying their own house? Let’s not even get started with that. We are not talking just about those in poverty. We are talking about those who are limited in talent, intelligence, and especially, luck. You may be from a fairly well off background, given equal opportunities, work twice as hard as your friendly neighbor, but still it seems they get so much more in return. It boggles your mind! How did they do it?!
Some people have been guided all their lives by luck. Some people were born with a natural talent. Some people are just so smart that they’ve thought up every step of the solution before you even begin to recognize the problem. And what of it? There’s nothing you can do but accept the fact that your life was not born a little more fortunate than the average Joe. 
Now, if you believe you were one of those born to the elite group of lucky, talented, intelligent few, I pose a question to you: Do you remember that one point in life where you realized the fact? How did that sway you in your decision-making?
When you come to the realization that things in life come fairly easy to you, (or at least more so than to the booger sitting next to you) there are two resulting consequences: 1) You realize that the universe has the gem of all opportunities never given to others, awaiting you to just pluck the rewards, what with some hard work and determination; 2) You realize that the universe works in your favor even if you don’t put in much effort, therefore resulting in a lesser work ethic and/or a stress-free life. (PARTAYYYYY!)
So, once again, is it a blessing or a curse the moment you realize that things in life come easily to you? Yes, it’s easy to say, “I’m already working hard. If I found out things in life come easily to me and I can achieve much more as long as I continue this strong work ethic, of course I would continue to work hard—possibly work 10 times harder!” (Chances are, if you are thinking this right now, you probably have not realized you are one of the lucky ones, and you are probably not one of the elite few. Sorry.) However, that is rarely the case as we all weaken to temptation and fall complacent with what we already have.