We seem to be taking everything for granted these days. All sorts of stuff like running water, heat, good roads, clothes, and sometimes the latest iPhone are the norm for the civilized world. I bet 99% of the ones reading this, if there are still any readers of this blog, have never used an outdoor toilet.

I did that while going on vacations to my grandma's in the countryside. It's not something I would do often, but having such an experience makes me appreciate the comfort I have even more.

I started reading a book called "Why Nations Fail" a while back, and I am 60 pages away from the total of 460 to finish it. It is one of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life; it barely keeps me connected to the text for more than 15 seconds. However, I occasionally find myself captivated by some of the data shared in it.

For example, I was reading a chapter yesterday about the situation in Uzbekistan from about two decades ago when pupils were obliged to leave school and pick cotton during the cotton-picking season. The kids doing that were living in very harsh conditions while working 8-10 hours a day every day.

Despite that, all the pupils in the country were literate, and they could have theoretically had the opportunity to make more out of themselves if it wasn't for such an extractive governance system enslaving them. I bet these young ones would have appreciated an internet connection more than ten-year-olds these days.

Complacency made us what we are. Being fine with a 9-5 job, our credit lines, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, and the gadgets we buy every Christmas made us not want to explore our potential beyond what society has dictated for us as the norm.

Would the kids in Uzbekistan play as many games as Westerners? Probably, but not until they had explored education through technology enough.

It's funny, but I have always chased having everything sorted out, and I've come to realize that had I achieved that, I would have probably lost the drive to better myself. To go to the gym, blog daily, invest in crypto, and be the anti-system motherfucker that I am.

On one hand, I envy some individuals who have everything figured out and whose lives run on autopilot because that takes away the daily hustle. On the other hand, I would not be myself if I were living on autopilot.

Convenience killed the cat. It's because of convenience that most of us stopped being hunters and started wasting so much time on the internet, or drinking, or getting fat. Once we start having a few challenges here and there and set ourselves a few higher goals than usual, it feels like wasting time watching cat videos on YouTube is not worth it anymore.

We should appreciate what we have before we start chasing what we don't have; otherwise, what we don't have will never end up being what we have. As shitty as my life currently is, I appreciate it because I know some would love to have it.

Thanks for your attention,
Adrian