Don’t take it too seriously
There’s a romanticism about dying for your art. Working so hard and almost becoming consumed by something like painting, making music, athletics, etc. But that’s only because the human condition involves a love for the underdog or a battle for glory in one way or another.
I can certainly respect the dedication. I can enjoy the end result. But, that behavior makes people completely insufferable. Don’t let a hobby or career or dream drive you to lose your humanity. Don’t take shit too seriously.
Literally none of this matters. Your “legacy” is only what others remember you by. And time has a way of either forgetting you or eventually crafting a bastardized version of your story that is almost more dishonorable than not having one at all.
Enjoy things. Enjoy people. This breeze outside right now isn’t just nice… it’s undeniably magical. And it’s right here for me to experience in real-time. Can’t say I know for sure whether another like it will come along or if there is anything like it in an afterlife (if we believe in such things), so I need to enjoy it now. And I’d never even notice it if I was too busy taking this rat race seriously.