The Real World

(2 min read)

There’s this thing called a Personality Disorder which describes people with very little or no empathy who only think of themselves, need to be the center of attention, and put little focus on sustaining relationships unless they benefit from them directly.

Although this is considered to be among the most debilitating diagnoses by psychologists, this profile has proven to be a great asset in most countries, particularly the regions placing a high value on self-determination, self-reliance, intellectualism, individualism, and monetary gain – pretty much all modern societies.

Look at all of the spheres of leadership in adult life – business, government, academia, nonprofit, spiritual. The people at the top often exemplify these qualities of so-called Personality Disorders.

Still, the values of collaboration, compassion, caring, generosity, and empathy are the ones that continue to be publicly emphasized throughout our lives – in children’s cartoons, in storybooks, in schools, etc.

In this contradiction, our best students, the ones who follow the path of morality and altruism, are being set up to fail.

This is what the whole “Real World” thing is about. One can be sweet and rosy and caring up until a point, but when you step out of the training ground, you best put that shit away, buck up little camper, and try to get ahead, lest you get squashed.

To those folks willing to get squashed, to the beautiful people who listen in good faith to the hearts of others, the ones who question why we do everything the way we do it, who live in incredulity, who give themselves to the tasks of bettering the people around them, and who risk breaking their heart just by stepping outside, despite what you see when you’re looking up past the pillars, you carry great power, your time will come, and you’re not alone.