Be the Change You Wish to See in the World

I was asked to out write my ‘philosophy on life’ for my mythology class my senior year. I didn’t want to do it, because it required a lot of thinking and self-reflection. I sat down for a few hours and churned out a four-page or so paper on my philosophy on living life.

It went something like this:

                Life is hard. Of course it’s hard. But you need to work through it. There will be moments when you feel like you’re drowning in pressure, but the only way to get out is to chip away at the obligations which are pressuring us. The way I see it, it’s like being stuck in a hole. You can sit and cry at the bottom. You can lay around trying to find an easy way out. Or you can get to work and start climbing out. You don’t have to do it all at once, and you can take breaks, but you make no progress without hard work. Don’t complain how your life is hard. Change it. If you don’t like something, change it.

After reading American Values and Assumptions by Gary Althen, I realized how incredibly ‘American’ my viewpoint is. Althen writes about American culture, our behaviors and values. The section outlining the section outlining the American’s view on the future, change, and progress struck a chord with me; it embodies my way of thinking.

Althen states, “Americans are generally impatient with people they see as passively accepting conditions that are less than desirable. ‘Why don’t they do something about it?’ Americans will ask” (12). This is what I always ask people. I wonder why people hate something and don’t change it. For example, a lot of people are unhappy with their weight and complain, “I want to be skinnier.”

I always have to refrain from saying, “Then put down the French fries and pick up the weights. The gym is that way.” Yeah, I know. It’s harsh and it’s not nice. It’s because I’ve been there. I’ve struggled with weight before and the only thing which changed it was active effort. I exercised every day. I taught myself nutrition. I controlled my diet. That’s why I get upset when I see people who want something but do nothing to change it.

I could just tell myself, “Oh it’s just because they don’t want it that bad.” But I they do. Tons of people struggle with their self-image and it’s usually weight related. Their weight affects their self-esteem and makes them think less of their own value because of it. That kills me.

The only thing which can change their situation is work. That’s what I did. I wanted something, I worked for it, and I achieved what I wanted. I have the one of the hardest of the hardcore “you have to change the world yourself” mentalities. I always believe that when things are hard, you shouldn’t give up but should continue to grind away. It may mean months of misery, but it’s all worth it when you achieve success.

When I read that one line by Althen, “Americans are generally impatient with people they see as passively accepting conditions that are less than desirable. ‘Why don’t they do something about it?’ Americans will ask” (12) I immediately connected with it.