This was a great thread on a question we all need to ask ourselves: Why do I want [X]? Well articulated and worth your time...

https://x.com/sportswithjohn/status/1836340470727029247

When you are 26 years old, it common to spend a lot of time pursuing what you want without spending much time considering why you want it. When I was 26, I wanted to be a successful YA novelist. I wanted it more than I wanted a long life, or happiness, or a family...

Because I thought being a successful YA novelist was the point of my life. Now, to actually become successful, I needed a ton of luck (and also a ton of structural privilege), but I could not really focus on that because I was so focused on becoming successful...

In a lot of ways, this relentless single-mindedness hurt me. It hurt my relationships. It warped my understanding of myself--my worth was entirely decided by how I was doing as a writer. But it also helped me, because I worked quite hard and was very focused on my goals...

If I had stopped to think about why I wanted this so badly, I might've understood that what I actually loved about writing was (and is!) making gifts for people using written language, to make stories that will help people. I might've even written better books.

Seeking money/fame/power/whatever without knowing why you're seeking it turns out to be a dangerous business. Even if you're lucky enough to make it to the top of the mountain, you'll find that it's a lonely place without much oxygen. I can tell you that from experience...

Anyway, this is a thread about Certain YouTubers. It's hard when you're young to think about both what you want and why you want it, and to really interrogate the why. But it's also important. The longer you go without doing that, the harder life gets no matter your success.