The importance of a chip on your shoulder

'My best students have always been the ones who failed some other course of study or life choice - because they carry with them the fire of that experience' - James Victore

Circa 2010 - 2013, I discovered and jumped in head first into the world of Zen and Buddhism. As a philosophy and way of life, I've found it to be the most useful in dealing with and resolving pain and suffering. The common perception of Zen is that of a monk sitting in the lotus position with an expression of pure calm or bliss. While it is important to be healthy in your inner world, and live from a place of contentment and passion, I have come to appreciate usefulness of the chip on the shoulder.

We are vastly more motivated by pain than we are by pleasure. The pain, the insecurity, the fear, all of that can become intense motivation to keep pushing, to prove a point to the world, to the naysayers, to ourselves. It keeps us running down the street, frantically stealing glances back to see if we have finally outrun it.

And that's okay, that kind of motivation is priceless. Let it be the fuel that blasts your ship into the stratosphere. Use it.