Uh, this might be a little out of character for me, but I believe we exist to improve ourselves.

Although I'm an easygoing person, I guess it's best to improve yourself whenever possible. I'd say that improvement is necessary in case you're ever in a dire situation. If your skill needs to carry you through a tough time in life, it's important to have it. Not much is worse than failing a crucial task due to a lack of skill, no? But for the most part, as long as your skill can get you by - as long as your skill level is adequate to live off of, there's no purpose in trying to improve, really.

If you're at a mundane point in your life and you find your job boring, trying to excel is an option to attempt to break the monotony. Go higher and achieve greater. That is, if you can. Hard work can only take you so far. Everyone is born with a set amount of talent, and this wall is insurmountable for anyone who tries to breach it. In the end, if you end up excelling, you may be burdened with more responsibilities. If you're the ambitious type, this may be great for you! Although if you are, you may not be experiencing monotony in your life in the first place, rendering this whole spiel useless. Unless you're tired of trying to improve?

What type of person am I?

I'm the type of guy to pushes to improve only if it's fun! What's the point of life if you're not having fun? There's a famous quote from where I grew up. "You only live once". And although this quip isn't derived from a great philosopher or anything, and spirits and such exist, this quote isn't entirely false. What's the point of life if you suffer? Do you want to suffer for the entire time you exist? Obviously, no one wants to. And if improvement transforms to suffering, I will gladly s.h.i.+rk that duty. And personally, I believe you should, too. If you're overburdened by responsibility, just take a break. I'm not saying you should completely run away from your job, but having fun is important! Stray from the monotony of society! Create your own world! And once you're refreshed, you can go back. Obviously, the way to avoid this in the first place is to avoid the trap of typical societal responsibility. But that's nearly impossible, so you're going to have to make the most out of your given situation. And if you enjoy your current position in life and are truly satisfied, then all the more power to you. You've succeeded in life. You enjoy what you're doing, and surviving in the process. There's no better position to be in life.

Wouldn't that make me a failure at life, then?

By my own definition, I suppose so. But why does it matter if I'm a failure in my own book? I'm having fun, and others around me seem to believe I'm successful. I don't need to rectify this situation any time soon. It'd just be another pain in the a.s.s. I don't want to set any more unnecessary goals for myself, especially if they're the cause of suffering.

Oh, Iota?

That guy... if you looked up the definition of "success" in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of him. Like seriously, he tries to improve all the time *and* he's having fun doing it? It's absolutely unfair, but there's no doubt he has the talent to make great things happen. He's always trying to get me to improve as well. Which I totally respect him for. Sometimes I think I may be a little too laid back... and in those times, he's always next to me so I never lose sight of what's good for me. Although I may not like it, I have to take my medicine once in a while. When did medicine ever taste good, anyway? I guess if you use the flavors for kids, it's a different story... but adult sized problems need adult sized medicines. And there's no way they would taste any good.

All in all, though, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Life's pretty fun, even though I do have to dial it back a bit once in a while. Honestly, even though I'm not objectively the best in all aspects of life, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

——

Iota:

Self-improvement. Without a doubt.

We exist to create a better version of ourselves every day. You must try to improve yourself whenever you can. You never know when you'll need your skills the most, so it's important to keep them sharp. Once you've acquired the skills you need to survive in life, you've reached the first step in your journey to mastery. In other words, if you're confident in your abilities, you ironically lack the ability to discern your own flaws.

No one's perfect. Not even the G.o.d of this world is. As for the G.o.d of where I'm from, that's a different story. One for another time. But the road to perfection is never ending, and the ones who get the farthest are the biggest winners in life.

Basically, this means success and failure are relative. How far you are from achieving perfection is for you to decide. But as long as you're on the path, it's impossible to be a failure. This may sound like I'm being pretentious, but it's practically impossible for me to be a failure at life. I'm always trying my best to push myself further, and I succeed at taking the steps. Some are small, some are big. But every one of them is a step farther from failure and closer to perfection.

Jon?

Pfft, that guy... Well, I guess that would technically mean he's a failure at life.

But if you want to be super pessimistic about it, everyone is a failure at life. If we say perfection is the ultimate goal, no one will ever realize it. No one will ever succeed, defaulting everyone to "failure". If everyone is a failure, though, then no one is.

Which is why I'm trying to get him on the right track. He's someone I enjoy being around. Someone who can push me to improve myself like n.o.body else can, although he doesn't even know it.

Deep down, we're both hyper-compet.i.tive, although neither of us wants to admit it. I'd say he wants to admit it even less than I do. Under that facade of a carefree guy is a monster hungering for life's ultimate goal - perfection. If he puts in a little more effort, he may be able to surpa.s.s my abilities one day.

There really is no such thing as talent in this world. Some may call me a genius. Others may call me crazy for believing such a thing. But I'm only where I am due to the amount of sheer effort I put in every day. I've been trying to improve myself for as long as I can remember. In my first memory, I witnessed my parents walking. I thought to myself, "How can I do that better?"

Speaking of which, I suppose it's entirely possible to get a little *too* hung up in seeking perfection. The monotony of daily life can eat away at your ability, numbing it down into nothingness.

In a way, the mind is similar to a pencil. Monotonous work is like writing an essay - it gets dull after a while. Taking a break or a few days off is like sharpening it.

... d.a.m.n. Now that I think about it, that's not a very good a.n.a.logy, is it? If you sharpen a pencil and don't use it, it stays sharp. Oh well, it appears there's somewhere else I can improve.

Anyway, breaks are important to refresh your abilities so you can give it your all. Because if you're not excelling at life, what reason is there to live it? Which is another reason I enjoy having this guy around. He knows when I'm too pent up and when I have to let myself go, even if it's just for a few brief moments.

In reality, I'm content with how things are going. Although things could always be better, they could be a h.e.l.l of a lot worse. My daily progress isn't disappointing in the least, and even if nothing shows as a result of my efforts once in a while, I know they'll bear fruit eventually. Perfection isn't within my grasp, and perhaps it will never be. But no way in h.e.l.l would I ever trade my position in life for anything else.