"Negative self-talk is like pushing someone down while yelling at them to stand up. Though it means well and serves the purpose of trying to push yourself, ultimately you have a harder time standing up." Frank Stockton

I think I'm pretty positive person. I really do believe that I can make something out of myself. I'm all about "the little engine that could" mentality. But does that mean that I'm blind to my own faults and weaknesses? Of course not. I know I have them. In fact, I'm usually never satisfied with myself, especially when it comes to design and creativity (and okay, life in general.)

But I never let that get in the way of my own happiness. Happiness is very important to me. I am a firm believer in the process of things. What's the point of making something when you find no enjoyment while doing it? With frustrations should also come excitement - doesn't it make sense that there needs to be a balance?

I think that's why I'm comfortable with doubting just how good I am at design, in my talent, and work. Because there will always be something I find that just blows all my ideas out of the water. But does that mean what I do becomes irrelevant, or pointless? Hell no, I do what I do because of the feeling I get from doing it. Questioning how I can make it better only adds to that process. When it comes to creativity, being satisfied means settling, and settling is never a good thing. And who knows, maybe I'll eventually reach a level that inspires others. I think that's a good thing to strive for, don't you?

. . .

"Every failed experiment is a brick in my castle." Frank Stockton

What bothers me is how the majority of people have this cynical mentality. They think, "with the good there is always the bad." Why can't it be "with the bad there is always the good?" Sure some people might scoff at this, or can't see the difference, but to them I say, "Who are your heroes?" People like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Lance Armstrong, any poet or writer or inventor, your mother or father... and I ask why are they your heroes? Is it because even in the face of adversity, of impossibles, of all the bad, they saw only down the line where there was good? They saw the value in trying anyway. They were ones who said, "we can make it there." And they're heroes because they made it.

In my opinion, people who see the bad before the good are more close-minded that those who see the good before the bad. (Remember, I'm not saying good and good only. There is the bad, and you'd be naive not to see it.) To go around and never take a risk, I feel like that's settling (and what does settling mean? See above.)

Now I'm not knocking anyone who works an honest, hardworking life because there is great integrity in that. I mention this because people get this confused with the point I'm trying to get across. There are people who choose a "safer" path who are not doing it so they can say, "I told you so" when the world in their mind will inevitably fall apart. Usually they make that choice so they can insure a better life for someone else. But in the end they are taking one of the biggest risks of all - will their children, their significant other, their community or country do something that makes their own choices worthwhile? Or will it just wash away and remain unnoticed by the oblivious? I think if you ask anyone who's in that position hopes that what they sacrifice will pay off ten-fold in the end.

This opinion of mine will undoubtedly raise more questions and be contested, but don't worry, I'm all for that. When it comes to intelligent conversation, any opinion should never be so strong that it refuses to hear the other side. So let's hear it, all three of you who might read this! Am I missing something? I wouldn't be surprised if I am :)

I guess in the end I'm just asking out loud, "In the big picture that is life, are we trying to be cynics, or are we trying to be heroes?"