When the Cost of Doing Nothing is the Same as Doing Something
There is this saying in China - "躺平". Literally it means lying flat. It also means giving up, lying down and do nothing. This is what young people are doing now in China. They grew up in a hypercompetitive environment, many of them has decided to quiet quit.
I understand the sense of hopelessness. No matter how hard I try, the sense of success feels so far away. I would like to "lie flat" as well. I have tried a few days. As I reflect through my days, I learned that the cost of doing nothing is the same as doing something.
Whether I am doing something or not doing anything, time passes like sands through fingers. Time is a resource that I can never gain back. That's the biggest cost to my life.
Regardless of my decision, I ultimately have to pay the price. By doing nothing, I pay the price of financial hardship. By doing something, I pay the price of discomfort and exhaustions. Between the two prices, I gladly pay the price of discomfort and exhaustions.
Through the discomfort of hard work, I know how far I can push myself mentally and physically. Through comfort and idleness, I suffer in complacency wondering could I have done things differently?
Which price are you willing to pay? The price of easy life but never knowing your true potential? The price of discomfort but knowing how far you have come? Regardless of your decision, the price is the same. Choose wisely.