This is a little diagram I drew a few months ago, but it seems like something that belongs on a blog. It really sums up my feelings at this moment in my life:

(It gets steeper.)

Reality is humbling. The more I understand about how the world works, the more unlikely it seems that I will achieve my ambitions.

I think there are three ways to respond to this revised concept of one’s prospects in life:

1. Pretend it’s not true.
2. Get depressed by it.
3. Become invigorated by it.

It’s easy to keep yourself naive, or to allow yourself to be intimidated. But I am making an effort to become invigorated by the sheer unlikelihood of success. I am trying to wrangle the feeling of near-certain doom, and let that drive my ambition.

Ultimately, I could certainly be happy doing a hundred different things. But I’m not going to give up my soaring dreams just because it’s fantastically improbable.