25 /Jon And Iota On The Purpose Of Life/ (1/2)

Jon:

Uh, this might be a little out of character for me, but I believe we exist to improve ourselves.

Although I'm an easygoing person, I guess it's best to improve yourself whenever possible. I'd say that improvement is necessary in case you're ever in a dire situation. If your skill needs to carry you through a tough time in life, it's important to have it. Not much is worse than failing a crucial task due to a lack of skill, no? But for the most part, as long as your skill can get you by - as long as your skill level is adequate to live off of, there's no purpose in trying to improve, really.

If you're at a mundane point in your life and you find your job boring, trying to excel is an option to attempt to break the monotony. Go higher and achieve greater. That is, if you can. Hard work can only take you so far. Everyone is born with a set amount of talent, and this wall is insurmountable for anyone who tries to breach it. In the end, if you end up excelling, you may be burdened with more responsibilities. If you're the ambitious type, this may be great for you! Although if you are, you may not be experiencing monotony in your life in the first place, rendering this whole spiel useless. Unless you're tired of trying to improve?

What type of person am I?

I'm the type of guy to pushes to improve only if it's fun! What's the point of life if you're not having fun? There's a famous quote from where I grew up. ”You only live once”. And although this quip isn't derived from a great philosopher or anything, and spirits and such exist, this quote isn't entirely false. What's the point of life if you suffer? Do you want to suffer for the entire time you exist? Obviously, no one wants to. And if improvement transforms to suffering, I will gladly s.h.i.+rk that duty. And personally, I believe you should, too. If you're overburdened by responsibility, just take a break. I'm not saying you should completely run away from your job, but having fun is important! Stray from the monotony of society! Create your own world! And once you're refreshed, you can go back. Obviously, the way to avoid this in the first place is to avoid the trap of typical societal responsibility. But that's nearly impossible, so you're going to have to make the most out of your given situation. And if you enjoy your current position in life and are truly satisfied, then all the more power to you. You've succeeded in life. You enjoy what you're doing, and surviving in the process. There's no better position to be in life.

Wouldn't that make me a failure at life, then?

By my own definition, I suppose so. But why does it matter if I'm a failure in my own book? I'm having fun, and others around me seem to believe I'm successful. I don't need to rectify this situation any time soon. It'd just be another pain in the a.s.s. I don't want to set any more unnecessary goals for myself, especially if they're the cause of suffering.

Oh, Iota?

That guy... if you looked up the definition of ”success” in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of him. Like seriously, he tries to improve all the time *and* he's having fun doing it? It's absolutely unfair, but there's no doubt he has the talent to make great things happen. He's always trying to get me to improve as well. Which I totally respect him for. Sometimes I think I may be a little too laid back... and in those times, he's always next to me so I never lose sight of what's good for me. Although I may not like it, I have to take my medicine once in a while. When did medicine ever taste good, anyway? I guess if you use the flavors for kids, it's a different story... but adult sized problems need adult sized medicines. And there's no way they would taste any good.

All in all, though, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Life's pretty fun, even though I do have to dial it back a bit once in a while. Honestly, even though I'm not objectively the best in all aspects of life, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

——

Iota:

Self-improvement. Without a doubt.

We exist to create a better version of ourselves every day. You must try to improve yourself whenever you can. You never know when you'll need your skills the most, so it's important to keep them sharp. Once you've acquired the skills you need to survive in life, you've reached the first step in your journey to mastery. In other words, if you're confident in your abilities, you ironically lack the ability to discern your own flaws.