Steven Pressfield, an American author of a number of bestsellers, discussing with Joe Rogan why people write hate-filled comments about the successful man, said: “They have a dream whether they could articulate it or not. And they are not enacting it in any way. So they see you or they see somebody else succeeding and that’s a terrible reproach to them: “He is doing something and I am not”. So they really hate themselves and they project that outward.” Stephen captured the very essence of the phenomenon.
Why am I so sure? Because I, too, feel the same way sometimes. No, I usually have the self-control not to vent it on social media. I just wait bitterly until the fire, in fact, of my regrets burns out inside. The first negative impulse is always directed at a specific person, and only then does the sobering thought come: “Oh, he had nothing to do with it at all.”
You can’t just brush aside your potential. Left unrealized, it starts to take revenge on you, corroding with acid all attempts to find peace of mind. There is a profound thought in the Gospel of Thomas: “If you bring forth what is within you, then what you bring forth will save you. And if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you don’t bring forth will destroy you”.
Looking back, I see that the worse I embodied my gift (calling, inclination), the more often I was scratched by someone else’s success. On the contrary, the more regularly I dive into exciting meaningful work, play a sport I love, and eagerly learn what I’m drawn to, the more the achievements of others fill me with warmth and joy. Becoming myself, they do things unthinkable for me, and I do things that hardly anyone else can.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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