I picked up Discourses and Selected Writings of Epictetus the other day. It's an easy, entertaining read full of advice which has as much application today as when it was written. Just the other day I was thinking how it's a bit disappointing that I will never be the "best" at a variety of my interests and just read this passage which addresses such thinking and this quote pretty much summarizes it "In short, we do not abandon any discipline of ever being the best in it." I highly recommend this book to anyone who might feel a bit stuck and find philosophy to be obtuse or intimidating.
The idea of being the best at something starts falling apart once you get far enough into something. Unless it's something seemingly simple and you're really great at it. (like running faster then other people, sure that's complicated lots of things going to being that but at the end there is one measure how long it takes from point a to point b.). Who is the greatest writer? Well this guy really makes me believe things that are out there, this guy makes my guts hurt in a good way, that lady makes me see the world in a way I never thought I would.... Also the older you get the bigger the world seems. When you're younger you think you can conquer it all. I've seen it in college girls. Lots of freshman girls and guys (but who cares about them, not me) think they're the prettiest most charming thing that ever walked the earth by the time they're almost graduating they realize most of the time that there are many just like them.
You also realize just being able to participate in something is awesome. Example the worst team in a professional sport is really good at that sport in most cases and could wipe most non pros. Your art isn't well know but you can make a living or even supplement your living heck you even have a hundred dedicated fans, wow all of those things are rare. You want to be the worlds' biggest player, now you realize how many people never even get to go out to dinner with someone as awesome as your wife or girlfriend....
The diminishment of expectations isn't a bad thing often it's just getting more in touch with reality.
Though my main philosophy is that life is totally superfluous and that's what makes it so damn precious. Because that makes it a gift and not a duty. You don't have to measure up, you don't have to conquer the world, you're lucky not only to be here but to be.
