On Greatness
A reflection of Chris Bumstead and Faker and our own greatness
November was a spectacular month. There was American Thanksgiving- a time to catch up with high school friends and family- and the shopping spree that comes along with it. There was also the anticipation for Christmas and New Years- the festivities in the holiday spirit and the reflection in another eventful year with solidified milestones, new friends, meaningful experiences, and little memories, which made the year that much more colourful and happy. Amid the anticipation of the year end, I am grateful to have witnessed two profound moments of greatness in vastly different niche areas: body building and gaming.
On November 5 in Orlando Florida, body building history was made. Among the many divisions in the annual Mr. Olympia competition, classic physique, a glamour division distinguished by its competitor’s more aesthetic and proportional physiques compared to other divisions, saw its title being retained, now 5 years in a row, by one of the most famous and successful body builders of the modern era: Chris Bumstead. Two weeks later on November 19, at the other side of the world in Seoul South Korea, gaming history was made. In the annual League of Legends world championships, Faker took his team to its 4th world championship since he burst onto the scene a decade ago, a number unmatched by any organization, much less any player in League of Legends history.
Now you may be thinking. Why should you care? Why are these two events so significant? What about them made November so spectacular? I do concede that these two events are true niches. As a pedestrian spectator only watching the world championships in each respective “sport,” I do not partake in either, being unwilling to inject myself with growth hormones and eat copious amounts of food or to invest hours fruitlessly clicking away on a mechanical keyboard as I try to get another champion kill. But despite my part-time interest, I feel the utmost privilege being able to bear witness to greatness; they are undoubtedly the greatest of all time in their respective competitions. Their victories made me tear up as I saw their expressions of true happiness when they lifted their respective trophies in the midst of a roaring crowd, a symbol of successfully overwhelming drastic setbacks barring them from training leading up to the world championships (Chris tore his Latissimus Dorsi and Faker injured his wrist) and another chapter in their legacies. Outside the worlds of body building and League of Legends, Chris Bumstead’s and Faker’s victories are still significant for me as another source of inspiration and reflection on greatness.
Perhaps their most significant inspiration on me is the infliction to achieve my own greatness- to cultivate the utmost proficiency in a certain craft and to emerge a savant in my own right. But the attainment of greatness is not all glorious. While public adoration and respect accompanies it, greatness seems to be more of a trade off- one that frees a flexible life with discipline, erases yearn for external validation with internal dissatisfaction for improvement, and mars comforting predictability with certain uncertainty. It requires the well publicized “successful” character traits: dedication, sacrifice, and <insert any other trait>. And for what? What is received from this tradeoff in the pursuit of greatness? Only a sliver of probability of actually achieving greatness.
This probabilistic nature of greatness is most evident when I think of the unspoken- the unseen thousands, if not millions of individuals lost in greatness’s romantic story ladened with survivorship bias. There are undoubtedly many with similar qualities to Chris Bumstead or Faker, but fail to achieve what we collectively, as a society, anoint as greatness, whether it be due to capricious circumstance or slightly misconfigured character. Greatness often does not give, but it does always take; sacrifice is only one of many offerings given for the received slim base rate.
Despite these odds, why am I still inspired to pursue greatness? The dominant reason that I can imagine is my natural cognitive bias towards stories. The romanticism and idealistic story of being great far outshines the logic of knowing the chances are next to nil. But knowing this reason and being a bit wiser than myself a decade ago, I have a chance to re-orient myself. It is true the odds are not in my favour. I do not have an alignment of genetic dispositions, inherent talent, and specialized skills cultivated over the 10,000 hours needed to be an expert in a field, much less even know what I specifically am passionate to pursue.
But all hope is not lost. In fact, all hope is never lost.
Where greatness deemed by society is objective, often defined by accolades and quantifiable metrics, my own individual greatness deemed by myself is very subjective. I may not be the greatest in a given craft, but I can be the greatest version of myself, which is not a small feat either for it requires to impress someone with higher standards than society: myself.
When I look in the mirror, I am the ultimate person I need to impress. Otherwise, how can I live with myself? How can I go to sleep knowing that I can be greater and not actively pursue it? How can I make my friends and family proud if I cannot even make myself proud? How can I ever be satisfied with what I’ve produced despite all I’ve consumed? To be the greatest I can be, I must always strive to improve, while being disciplined, genuine, kind, compassionate, and inquisitive. Whereas society can be cheated and kept dark from the corners cut, I will never be able to cheat myself- my conscious does not allow that.
Now, I do not believe my desire to be the greatest version of myself is unique. I believe every human has this inherent desire. No matter how buried or dormant this desire may be, we all want what is best for ourselves. Indeed, if we had a straightforward selection, we will all choose to be the greatest we can be. Greatness is within all of us.
If there is any self doubt present about our personal greatness, look no further than the very great men and woman we idolize- all simple human beings who breathe for air, bleed with blood, and perish to the very dirt that lay beneath us. They are humans. We are humans. If they can be great, so can we, for we are all human beings whose creation is one of biological marvel. What starts as a simple amalgamation of cells nourishes, subdivides, and coalesces into a collection of tissues to form specialized organs in complex systems, which perform alchemy on molecules, give rise to consciousness, and perceive the sensations of the fantastic infinite revolving universe, which passes through our very fingertips at any given moment. The process we humans come to be is, without a doubt, great. And since this magnificent process is encoded in our very own genetic material, does that not engender our own inherent greatness?
No matter how much potential we each have, greatness is never easy, nor should it ever be. Otherwise, greatness’s definition as “the quality or state of being important, notable, or distinguished” will no longer be satisfied; the remains contain only average and mediocrity.
When I think back to Chris Bumstead and Faker, it is evident why I am so delighted to witness their greatness. The untapped and buried greatness inside me attracts me to their personal expressions of greatness. But this extends beyond watching Chris and Faker to enjoying the wonderful architecture of downtown Chicago, the presentations and complex flavours of cuisine, the shapes and draping of woven fabrics, and the hum of engines operating cars and airplanes- all unique expressions of human greatness.
In light of this, I must be wary. It is easier to watch greatness than it is to be great. I cannot be distracted nor overly invested in the greatness of others. If I want my own individual greatness, I must focus on myself and my own unique path; Chris and Faker are only reminders for me to continue my own path.
I simply want to achieve my own personal greatness and be proud of myself~