The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.
David Wallace
In this quotation from David Wallace’s 2009 novel, This is Water, Wallace presents the idea that the more one desires a perceived strength, the harder it is to believe they have it within themselves. The more one begins to idolize an ability or competence the more difficult it becomes to reach. I agree with Wallace’s words. In my life I have admired many people. People who can effortlessly write well and draw beautiful pieces, good runners, dancers, photographers, and people who are good at math. I idolize them because one day I hope to be as good as they are. But I have to be careful not to let their talent intimidate or inhibit my own.
Wallace’s quote emphasises the fact that when someone excessively begins to look up to someone else or wants to be/have something, it could begin to control them. I am a very competitive person, and it is often difficult for me to understand the line between a goal and an obsession.
Wallace’s quote points out the danger in crossing said line. Wallace makes it clear that while we should always strive to be the best, we may not always get to be the best, and that is okay as long as it doesn’t get into our head and we keep working. Some may believe this quote does not convey the idea that we have to continue working after either reaching or missing our goal, but I believe it is implied in the “The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness,.” because if we do not strive for our goals daily, what’s the point of setting them in the first place?
I have to learn to accept that there will always be a better dancer in my class, a better runner at the cross country meet, and a better photographer and copy-writer at the journalism conference. Wallace’s quote lets us to realize the presence of someone else’s talent does not indicate the lack of our own. The danger lies in not believing in our own talents because we are obsessed with other’s who we perceive to have more. Jealousy can destroy our own abilities while at the same time eroding our self-confidence.
annika 