Trophies

Trophies..Trophies..everybody wants a trophy. But for what? Once upon a time, awards were reserved to acknowledge significant accomplishments (I.e. championships, graduation, job promotion, etc). Unfortunately in current time, more and more people are being recognized for bullshit -- empty endeavors. Social media, through likes and retweets has created a space for rewarding actions and ideas that have little substance. And the phenomenon is seeping into every day life. In today's youth sports, every player gets a trophy..everybody is a star. Today, every child advances to the next grade, no child is left behind. Socially, our immense desire to be successful has led many into pretending that there is no such thing as FAILURE.  Failure (in many minds) does not exist. *Imagination is a dangerous thing* Contrary to this ideology, failure is no less real than it was 10/15/20 years ago, but NOW it's just being ignored like the big ass elephant. Un- flawed,  perfect, self-righteous are all the things we want to be ---which leads to an intense phobia of failure. Of course we've all endured some form failure and recall it to have been an unwanted experience that dare not be revisited. For with failure comes sadness,  hurt, and tears - but even deeper, to fail is to highlight that weakness and inadequacy live within us.  There's the disappointment of knowing that if I fail, there's a strong likelihood that someone else is more perfect than me. But how can that be possible, when I've always been told I was the chosen one? No need to answer that, just Give me my trophy -- it's funny how this failure phobia leads to a false sense of entitlement, that regardless of how much effort is put in, or the quality of the performance given, participation is synonymous with high achievement *like honorary success*
It's clear that expectations for our society have been depleted, and there is no drive to be the best anymore because at the end of the day, everybody knows a trophy awaits them, no matter what. *ultimate road to long-term failure*
Failure is present no matter how hard mom and dad try to hide it from their children, and the sooner that is realized, the better things will be. FAILURE is the yang to ACHIEVEMENT. They coexist to balance each other. Each extreme is an outcome that represents the quality of effort that comes before. Hard work, sacrifice,  and tenacity result in achievement-- Trophy. On the other hand, instead of an award, the appropriate outcome for ignorance, indiscretion, incompetence is simply FAILURE. And under moral code, when there is a failure, the shortcomings leading to the failure should first be acknowledge, and then there should be a drive to do better. In my honest estimation, there must be a return to the days when reaching the cream at the top held value, and only the MVP got a trophy. Why have failure phobia? Tears are good, some pain is needed, and disappointment builds character. Unfortunately, it is apparent that new age hyper-appeasement has handicapped the people and left the remains of a weak society. Nobody wants to deal with the reality of struggle and disappointment, instead most people prefer to receive universal praise; even at times when they really deserve an ass-whooping. There is great need for the bars of expectation to be raised before trophies are.

 

"Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is"

            - Bill Wilson

 

***Don't be afraid to hit the dislike button --- BG