You should be studying instead of going out. You should be putting in overtime instead of sitting on the couch. You should be creating more opportunities for your kids instead of relaxing. In everything you do, the supposed wise choice is to prepare a better future for yourself and for others. But what about today?

There’s two portrayals. The first one is The Fighter. This person probably comes from little or nothing. They have to earn everything they get. They work tirelessly, relentlessly, foregoing temporary pleasures for the hope of one day obtaining that bright future they’ve always dreamed of. One day they look around, and they’ve made it! Success. All those long hours, stressful nights, and lost friendships were worth it. Then there’s the second portrayal.

The Blind Man. This person wants something so bad that it’s the only thing they focus on. Spare time doesn’t exist. Friends stop calling because the answer is always “I’ve got this thing I’m working on.” Their passion is so all-consuming that everything unrelated to it falls by the wayside. They make it. Sweet, glorious success! There’s nobody to share their accomplishments with. Instant regret.

Everybody wants to be The Fighter. No one wants to be The Blind Man. The problem in that is these two portrayals are precisely the same, minus one detail: the perception of the path to success. The path itself does not change. What makes the difference between noble and foolish is how the character feels about it. Which one holds the right view?

If you decide on one side, your perception likely has or will change(d). The facts of the matter are no different, only the mindset. Mindsets change all the time. Who’s to say you won’t live your life one way for years, perfectly content with yourself for making all the right choices, only to wake up one morning and regret everything?

It’s a frightening thought, isn’t it? Do you ever feel like you’re wasting time making good decisions? That you’re doing all the right things, all the societal “you should’s,” but in so making those “good decisions” you’re wasting life and opportunities for the truly important things?

We have to make these choices and decisions for ourselves. Society helps point us in the right direction, but people aren’t exactly perfect. That means we all run the risk of making the wrong choices, even if we feel we’re making the best ones at every stage. Who’s to say which are the right choices, and which are the wastes of time? It’s all perception, isn’t it?