Here is something to be utterly dissatisfied about:
We are very often all right with being fairly decent at something.
We do not expect excellence of ourselves, after a certain point, after reaching a certain amount of obstacles.
Why? Well, there are many explanations, but only a few I think are worth talking about.
I will narrow down a few.
1: Life gets in the way. Not only do we slave away at 8-9 hours in a job we don't like every day. We also have bills to pay, food to buy and structure into meals, bathrooms to clean and people to socialize with. At times, our art, our talents, get sidetracked by living. The tragedy of it all is that developing these passions and making them valuable is a hugely instrumental process of life, and it should be our main priority. How are we going to let routine get in the way of doing what we love? We should synthesize the two processes.
2: People get in the way. People who don't believe in you. People who don't think you're good at something. Another tragedy! The response to this is, who cares? If you enjoy doing something and want to get better at it, the higher you ceiling, the better you will be. Mentally, it is exhausting to be around people who drain your livelihood from you. My advice, ignore them, and pursue your talent. As long as you're surviving, as long as you have a roof over your head and food on the table, there is nothing better than working your dream job or getting better at what you love.
3: You get in the way. This the worst. This is when you become your worst enemy, and try to fuck everything up by being too shy, too reticent, too self deprecating. It is alright to know your limits, but it is essential that you try to go beyond them. If you don't, give up. Seriously. Just drop everything, and embrace mediocrity. There is nothing wrong with that. But you may regret it for the rest of your life. It is probably something you don't want to regret.
4:Circumstances get in the way. This is the only good excuse, and if you are struggling to feed your family, you have higher priorities in life than practicing the piano.
If you find yourself identifying with the first three situations, make it a point to devote an hour a week to your craft. It doesn't have to be much, but you do have to do something. We erode slowly in this world. Life is not as short as it seems when it is over. Don't starve the world of your talent because you did not think you were good enough.
Believe me, the world is better with it.
