Making the Most of What You Already Have

 The corollary to the solution of always "needing" more, is making the most of what one already has -- and in doing so, one often finds that they don't need anything more -- than what they already have, but have never thought to use.  Most obviously, that is the value of exercise -- and the saying that, "if you don't use it, you will lose it."  But far before getting to that point, is realizing that one has it in the first place -- because if one never uses it at all, they may never realize that they had those capabilities at all -- ever in their lives!  Exercise is therefore the expression of those capabilities, and the mastering of those faculties, is the extent of that articulation -- in the range of possibilities.  That is what makes one "articulate" in those expressions -- and beyond that is the mastery and even perfection in those expressions we appreciate in performance venues.

However much we come to appreciate it in others, what matters most, is learning to appreciate those capabilities in ourselves -- and it is true that we never know what we are ultimately capable of, until we discover it for ourselves -- in the doing, and not merely learning from authorities what is the "average."  Individual experience will always vary from that norm -- and in every life, that is what is most important to discover, develop and explore -- as the whole meaning of each life.

Many will claim to know what that is -- for everybody -- invariably because they never found out the truth of any matter for themselves, but think that what one authority told them is the truth, is all that can be known of it.  With that way of thinking, nothing new and different is ever possible -- and all we can do, is repeat history.  Some see it as their highest calling -- that they've never said and done anything that hasn't already been said and done before -- preferably, by everybody else.  In such a scheme, the "average" is the best -- and every deviation from that norm, must be vilified and extinguished.  

Such a way of being and doing will often cause problems for which there is no resolution in repeating the "solutions" that have never solved the problem before -- yet are highly recommended by the experts and authorities that make a good living from its perpetuation and exaverbation.  The problem just gets endlessly worse because there are financial or psychic incentives to do so.  So one has to reward themselves by making their lives better by assessing the risks and rewards for doing so -- and acting on them appropriately and prudently.

If something doesn't work, you quit that and find some way that works -- even if one has to discover it for the rest of the world.  That won't automatically make one "rich and famous," but one now has a template for making other discoveries -- and that is much more important.  Many get lost in the media culture that promises everything but delivers very little.  So it is best to rely mostly on one's own sensibilities in discovering the truth of any matter -- and how to go about it for the rest of their lives.

Of course some will be more gifted at doing so than others -- but everyone has their own unique starting point of what is meaningful and significant.  Even more important than the start, is that the finish line moves further into the future as one develops more skills and possibilities.  However far they have come, they have even more life ahead of them -- and not that it is all behind them now.  That doesn't mean that they will live forever, but they live each day as though they will -- and when the end comes, they know they've truly done their best, and all they could.

In that way, they've lived many lives -- and not just the same one thing, repeated endlessly -- in the same way.  They end up far from where they started.  Those are the most successful lives -- because they have discovered many different lives and ways of being -- in their own.  That is the exercise of life -- and not merely the repetition of anything done before to numbing boredom.  That, ultimately, is what makes one person successful and others not so much.  One is transformed by what they do, while for the many others, no change occurs -- or is even possible.

For the latter, "more" is not the answer that "different" would be.  Even those who think they know, often cannot distinguish this difference -- and think the wrong things are responsible.  It's only an "option" until you exercise it, and discover how it changes one's life.  That takes one down a particular path -- that simply having unlimited options unexercised, can not.  It is a commitment of time, energy and focus -- and that is the exercise.  So if one wants to be good at 100, start practicing now until you get there.