Fucking Apathy
When it comes to keeping up motivation and overcoming adversity, people often express the need to overcome nay-sayers; to prove wrong those people who say you can’t achieve whatever you’re attempting.
There are so many people out there who will tell you “you can’t”. What you’ve got to do is turn around and say “watch me.”
This is a lovely sentiment; it is bold, encouraging and motivating. It is also untrue.
Although there are certainly some people out there who will tell you to give up, or that you won’t be able to achieve your aims, the reality of the situation is that these people are quite rare. After all, there are only so many total dicks in the world.
You are, however, far more likely to encounter an equally destructive force; a perpetual, infuriating ambivalence towards everything you want to achieve and are excited about doing.
For every person who tells you “you can’t”, you’ll meet a hundred who will merely shrug and assume you won’t even try, or imply that trying is a waste of time.
It is this fucking apathy you must learn to conquer first and foremost.
Instead of cultivating and supporting your hard-earned enthusiasm, passion and energy, these poisonous individuals will smother it in cynicism, sarcasm and scorn. Their self-righteous little minds simply will not entertain the idea that not everybody is as tedious, indolent and uninspired as they are.
Instead, they’ll do everything in their power to drag you down with their pessimism.
Do not let them.
These people can be as dull and predictable as they like – who cares? What matters is making sure their pathetic inactivity doesn’t start rubbing off on you, holding you back and making you question your own actions and desires, as if you were choosing for them and not yourself.
It’s not for anybody else to tell you what you’ll enjoy doing, what is worthwhile or what to attempt; if you want to do something ridiculous, do something ridiculous!
What these people don’t understand is that it does not matter whether or not you achieve what you set out to do. You might not even get started! The aim is to live a life of interest, discovery and adventure – and that never ever starts with apathy.
Back in August 2012, I tried to cycle to the source of the Thames. I totally failed. Did I really think I could cycle 100 miles on my first ever attempt at riding a road bike? Probably not, but that was never the point! The point was to try to cycle 100 miles and see what would happen along the way.
This isn’t about proving to other people that they were wrong. This is about proving to yourself that you were right; you were right to follow that strange feeling, you were right to pursue your silly idea, you were right to go out of your way to do something – anything – for the sake of the experience.
If you can gain that confidence in your own desires and decisions, you’ll be that much closer to leaving apathy and inactivity behind you forever and leading a life rich with experience and adventure.
I, for one, wish I could.