What's the point of structure? Why do we all want to live in an office building? What is it about money and the white picket fence that makes people give up on their dreams, kill their imaginations, and lose their desire to try new things?
From the time we start kindergarten until the time we graduate from college, we are poked, prodded, and led toward the middle. Unless you are the next Picasso or Shakespeare, your artistic dreams are crushed at a young age. Traveling and seeing this amazing world for yourself is put off in favour of your "education" and "real life."
We don't like failing so much that as a society, we try to protect our children from the pain of it by telling them to be average, conservative, and just like everyone else. It seems like we think that if we set our goals low enough, we can all reach perfection, but perfection is boring. Having a mistake is. Asymmetrical is more interesting than symmetrical, and straight is less interesting than winding.
Where is the adventure in going to school, studying all the time to get a "A" average that no one cares about but you, getting a job, making a good salary, raising two kids with your wife, and dying in Florida after you retire?
My uncle travelled for eleven years through Europe, Africa, and India before getting sick and coming home. He has a lot of stories to tell. What does Joe have who works in accounting? Tabloid headlines.
People end up living their lives through other people instead of getting their own goals done. The worst case of this is when sports parents push their kids to the point where they hate the sport they're playing for their own glory. Sure, your kid might be a champ when he's 15, but we'll see how proud you are of him when he's a nervous wreck who can't keep a steady job or find a girlfriend who can deal with his constant bouts of depression.
What good is a good imagination or dream if you don't believe in them or try to follow them? And what's so frightening about failing? I do it all the time, and every time I do it, I feel smarter and more interesting. Sometimes it's awkward, and you have to apologise for making a mistake, but so what? No one goes through life never feeling uncomfortable, so why make such a big deal about it? I say, make some goals, see the world, turn off the TV, turn on your mind, and live.
And if you go all-in with bad cards, have the guts to put up more money and play another hand, because you never know, this time it might be rockets.
