Introduction
In life we face many opportunities. Sometimes, these opportunities present themselves in a distinctively dual-pathed manner. This has commonly been depicted in narrative fiction, myth, and fairy tale, as a crossroads. The path to the right is the path of duty and meaning, and the left-handed path is one of temptation. The sight of the left-handed path provides immediate reward and satisfaction. The path to the right, however, is much more daunting, scary, and painful. To put it simply, one path proposes pleasure and comfort, while the other induces fear, and comes with certain pain.
The Roman Empire
On January 10, 49 BC, Julius Caesar and his battle-hardened army famously crossed the river Rubicon. This thus declared civil war throughout the Roman Republic. Caesar was well aware that the act of crossing the Rubicon with an army was illegal, and he knew once he crossed, there would be no turning back. It has therefore become a common phrase to say: “Crossing the Rubicon” in common language still today, and is used to represent any time a decision is made that will be irreversible, or one that has a great and important effect. This metaphor may both apply to how actions affect people, leaving them and their personalities changed forever, or perhaps instead how people’s actions cause and affect plans of action that lead to irreversible external changes.
The act of crossing any Rubicon in your life, requires resolve. The need to dedicate yourself to something wholeheartedly requires commitment, conviction, and bravery. For when any Rubicon of life presents itself, the path of courage is laid out, yet also the one of cowardice. It would have been much easier for Caesar to turn back around, play it safe, and suffer no consequences and risk. Yet he committed, he dared, and ultimately, after a five-year civil war, he won; becoming emperor of the greatest empire ever known.
It is my belief, that life rewards bravery. We are constantly presented with opportunities to do what we know will be challenging, opportunities where we know it will be tough, will be stressful, and will take hard work; yet through all this, we know deep down that we very well have what it takes to succeed if we simply have belief and faith. It is in these moments of leaps of faith, in these calls of duty, that the real development of the personality occurs, and our character is forever changed. When someone has constantly allowed themselves to suffer, to constantly challenge themselves voluntarily, this is the zone of proximal development that separates the weak from the strong. For real strength comes from facing your fears, and doing what you know you must do, even though you know the path will not be easy. The more Rubicon’s in life one has crossed, the bigger the leaps they will be able to take going forward.
One Brick At A Time
Rome wasn’t built in a day, yet it all started with one man’s faith and courage.
This essay will not be long, nor even particularly deep or analytical. What I wish to do with this short writing, is simply highlight to anyone reading, that it is imperative you do today what is hardest, yet also most important. May this serve as a reminder to do what you are most scared of, as the fruits of victory are only a stone’s throw away.
The conviction to do what you know you must is never easy, and you may um and err at the very thought. There are times when you know the moment will come when you must make a choice, and you must prepare yourself to accept the choice before it even comes, no matter how small or petty it may seem to others. A real-life example comes from my own recent experience. I have recently committed to being a self-employed personal trainer; something of a risk, as this means no consistent salary, and only myself to rely on to gain clients and income. Yet I had faith in my ability, and so I crossed the Rubicon, and now my life is already infinitely better and more satisfying than it was before. I also knew this would come with challenges that I had in my head worried about prior. One being that I would inevitably have to instruct classes in front of crowds of up to 30 people. This thought of course induced a certain fear, and I knew it would not be long until I was given a choice to confront this or cower. And so the day came when I was asked to cover two fully booked classes. I committed, I stuck by my resolve, and I succeeded. I was rewarded with great pride in myself, as well as gaining confidence in both myself and my ability to stand up to a challenge when it was presented. I confronted my fear, and my personality was of course built, and I earned the right to legitimate confidence.
True confidence must be earned through achievement through one’s actions. The alternative is the fake confidence we see by many the delusional narcissist, convincing their own self that they are in fact far greater than they actually are. This is of course a defence mechanism brought upon by the conscious ego, as the alternative would be depression. In reality, the only true option of grace is to do what we know we must do. We may rationalise why we did not need to do such and such after the act of cowardice has happened, yet deep down we know that it was nothing of the sort, and we in reality only have ourselves to blame for why the action was not committed to. Even if we do fail, we can still fail with the pride in knowing we stuck by our conviction to act, and that in itself will stay with your character through memory forever, and that strength will never leave you. Conversely, if we ran away from opportunity, our memory will forever be laden with the guilt of knowing we did not do what we should of, and we will label ourselves as “The one who cannot stand up when needed”, and nothing is more dangerous than this. If we begin to label ourselves as something fixed, such as loser, weak, or incapable, then we may actually start to believe we will forever be these things. The opposite is of course true for when one is at one point strong, one may convince oneself that they are strong, powerful, and trustworthy, and this is all well and good, but these labels are only worth anything if they are constantly practiced and maintained, for if they are not, they are nothing more than memories from past actions.
Actions Are More Powerful Than Words
The truth is, what you are today, is not who you will be tomorrow. We all have infinite potential for growth, and it is only up to us to choose how much we wish to grow, and how much we wish to develop our character. A tree may grow higher the deeper it decides to grow down into the earth, forcing its roots deeper and deeper into the dark and murky earth below. It is only when a tree has forcibly pushed itself down further and further, making itself as stable and secure as possible, has it finally earned the right to grow higher and higher up into the light, to shine, and to see all and everything around. Most wish to grow high, but not many wish to go low. The challenge is not easy, but the challenge becomes easier if we actively commit to the small challenges that present themselves to us in the here and now. It is only through this practice of crossing the small Rubicon’s of life, that we will be able to cross larger and greater ones in the future.
There is no time like the now. Find your Rubicon, and cross it.
