Plot Armor
During the story of our own life, we have what is called 'plot armor'. While we live and write our own story, we cannot die before its ends. Dying is just what happens at the end of this egocentric journey. Pushed back into the recesses of our mind, is the knowledge that we will all die someday; hopefully together with the strength to acknowledge and accept it.
Ironically, the downside of this lifestyle is that opportunities might not be taken as seriously as they should be. Feeling immortal, means that we might not see how short our time is. While we are physically not limited to being made out of glass, our mental boundaries might be the bottleneck. How old or experienced must we grow to wonder about the purpose and shortness of life?
Ambitious Memories
What strikes me most about people I admire, is strong ambition. They treat their future as if they have a memory of it. It's not just about seeing what you want to accomplish, but living up to it as if it is predestined.
You might have heard the phrase: ‘Fake it until you make it.’ This is entirely true when it comes down to ambition. The goal you hold in your mind, through ideation of all the things you value and love, is just an idea or a dream - until you realize it. This requires a very clear image of something that does not exist, yet.
This is when people start to shine. When they find a purpose in life, which fundamentally defines who they are. It shows me their true intentions, their true life's goal. A dedication to the maintaining of ephemeral thoughts and ideas they have in the present, so that they can show themselves and us what they will have done with them in the future.
Time-Perspective
One of the main traits these people share, I believe, is to see time as a continuous stream and as a resource one must control; conversely it can control us and make us feel helpless against it. In the end, any form of ambition is simply the thriving to be recognized by ourself or others. So might as well make that splash -however big or small- a significant life lesson for those around us.
Like John Lennon said: ‘Being honest might not get you a lot of friends, but it will get you the right ones.’ Ambition to do what you want, for egocentric or other reasons, might be the closest thing to being your authentic self which you can ever hope to achieve. It's all about perspective.
