"Experience Over Outcome,
Effort Over Fortune,
Integrity Over Return,
Excellence is Self Defined,
Seek and Summit Your Mountain."
~Kyser Seaney
Durango Herald Picture, Senior Seminar Presentation, FLC
Experience Over Outcome:
At an early age I was taught that great challenges lead to greater rewards. Later on though, I learned that the rewards received from pursuing these challenges often came in forms that were hard to interpret. Whether it was through wrestling, soccer, fishing, hunting, and backpacking I found that this lesson remained true. There would be weeks I would spend hours practicing to sharpen my skills as a wrestler and soccer player. Sometimes I would be rewarded with winning my soccer game or winning a wrestling tournament. Other times, I would loose the soccer game due to a mistake I made as a defender or I would loose a wrestling match even after putting in hours upon hours of work to be better. The same would happen to me for fishing and hunting. There would be days where I would hunt or fish from dusk till dawn and receive a bag limit or catch a trophy fish. Other times it would seem like the day was wasted and no reward came from the hours of work put in. When I was young I strove for the outcome because I thought that was the reward that came with the challenge. It wasn't until later on in my life I realized that even when the outcome wasn't what I had in mind, the experience I had from putting in the hours made me better than I was the day before. I realized that the experience in and of itself was a greater reward than any outcome I could have imagined. Winning the soccer game or wrestling match was a feeling that was fleeting. Same goes for catching the trophy fish or getting a bag limit while hunting. However, the development of my skills in these areas stayed forever, and that reward was lasting. That is when I learned in life that the experience for doing something always outweighed the outcome.
Effort Over Fortune:
They say that fortune favors the brave. I've learned to interpret that as fortune favors those who are brave enough to give one hundred percent effort towards the things they love. Growing up in Canon City, Colorado, I heard from most people that they hope to achieve fame and fortune in whatever life they were pursuing. I never heard anyone talk about how they hoped they would have to work hard to achieve their fortune. This was a lesson that came to me later in life. At a young age I focused on the fortune aspect of my life. Whether it was to be a state champion in wrestling or to be one of the best soccer players there ever was. Unfortunately, these fortunes never came my way. I believe this was due to the fact that I didn't have a true love for these aspirations and therefore I didn't put in the effort that was required to achieve these fortunes. I didn't see true fortune in my life until I found something I love and I started to put all my effort towards the aspect I loved doing. This aspect I speak of is chemistry and physics. While I was in college I had no intentions of becoming a published scientist nor did I wish to be one of the best students in my class. I simply loved the subjects and put all my effort towards doing the best I could in these subjects for the pure enjoyment of learning. Fate had another plan for me though, and through all the effort and love for what I was doing I was rewarded with fortune that I wasn't even striving for. That is why I believe, the effort we put into our lives and towards the things we love outweighs whatever fortune we look forward to. In reality, fortune will come to those who put the effort in.
They say that fortune favors the brave. I've learned to interpret that as fortune favors those who are brave enough to give one hundred percent effort towards the things they love. Growing up in Canon City, Colorado, I heard from most people that they hope to achieve fame and fortune in whatever life they were pursuing. I never heard anyone talk about how they hoped they would have to work hard to achieve their fortune. This was a lesson that came to me later in life. At a young age I focused on the fortune aspect of my life. Whether it was to be a state champion in wrestling or to be one of the best soccer players there ever was. Unfortunately, these fortunes never came my way. I believe this was due to the fact that I didn't have a true love for these aspirations and therefore I didn't put in the effort that was required to achieve these fortunes. I didn't see true fortune in my life until I found something I love and I started to put all my effort towards the aspect I loved doing. This aspect I speak of is chemistry and physics. While I was in college I had no intentions of becoming a published scientist nor did I wish to be one of the best students in my class. I simply loved the subjects and put all my effort towards doing the best I could in these subjects for the pure enjoyment of learning. Fate had another plan for me though, and through all the effort and love for what I was doing I was rewarded with fortune that I wasn't even striving for. That is why I believe, the effort we put into our lives and towards the things we love outweighs whatever fortune we look forward to. In reality, fortune will come to those who put the effort in.
Integrity Over Return:
I believe that for everyone, this is one of the hardest lessons to follow in life. I am a naturalist, and by that I mean I believe that humans, like animals, will do everything in their power for the betterment of themselves and their offspring. By this I believe in the same principles that is fundamental for economists. This fundamental principle is that everyone acts in their own self interest. This is not to say that everyone is selfish because many people do self-less acts for their own self interest. For example, some people like to help out at homeless shelters because they think they are bettering the world and therefore it makes them feel good. Their self interest in this case is to better the world and to make themselves feel good. People do things because there is some form of self interest that drives the action. The reason why this becomes a challenge is because, in some circumstances, what is in our own self interest isn't necessarily what is right. Early on in high school, I focused on the return for doing something rather than doing something because I thought it was right. When I received my first dog, I trained it and took excellent care of it because I wanted a really good hunting dog and a companion. My first dog turned out to be an excellent hunter but not a great companion. In my course work in my freshman and sophomore year in high school, I made sure to get acceptable grades because I wanted to be able to go to whatever college I chose to, I did not go through my course work to learn more or to better myself. After my sophomore year I was not getting the grades needed to be able to go to whatever college I wanted to. For some of my friends in high school, I wanted them to spend time hanging out with me instead of helping them be successful in life because I wanted company. I am no longer friends with these people today. At some point in time in high school this paradigm flipped and I started to do actions because they were the right thing to do and I was rewarded with a great return. My second dog I took care of and trained because I wanted my dog to have a good life. He is still my dog to this day and I couldn't ask for a better companion. For two of my friends in high school, I spent more time making sure they were successful and filling in for the role of their absentee parents because it was the right thing to do. We are still best friends to this day and they are living comfortable and happy lives. I started to go through my course work for the sake of learning and bettering myself instead of just doing it to be the top dog. I got mostly A's my junior and senior year in high school. This is when I learned that doing the right thing was more important than focusing on the return. In life, the return will come to those who do the right thing.
I believe that for everyone, this is one of the hardest lessons to follow in life. I am a naturalist, and by that I mean I believe that humans, like animals, will do everything in their power for the betterment of themselves and their offspring. By this I believe in the same principles that is fundamental for economists. This fundamental principle is that everyone acts in their own self interest. This is not to say that everyone is selfish because many people do self-less acts for their own self interest. For example, some people like to help out at homeless shelters because they think they are bettering the world and therefore it makes them feel good. Their self interest in this case is to better the world and to make themselves feel good. People do things because there is some form of self interest that drives the action. The reason why this becomes a challenge is because, in some circumstances, what is in our own self interest isn't necessarily what is right. Early on in high school, I focused on the return for doing something rather than doing something because I thought it was right. When I received my first dog, I trained it and took excellent care of it because I wanted a really good hunting dog and a companion. My first dog turned out to be an excellent hunter but not a great companion. In my course work in my freshman and sophomore year in high school, I made sure to get acceptable grades because I wanted to be able to go to whatever college I chose to, I did not go through my course work to learn more or to better myself. After my sophomore year I was not getting the grades needed to be able to go to whatever college I wanted to. For some of my friends in high school, I wanted them to spend time hanging out with me instead of helping them be successful in life because I wanted company. I am no longer friends with these people today. At some point in time in high school this paradigm flipped and I started to do actions because they were the right thing to do and I was rewarded with a great return. My second dog I took care of and trained because I wanted my dog to have a good life. He is still my dog to this day and I couldn't ask for a better companion. For two of my friends in high school, I spent more time making sure they were successful and filling in for the role of their absentee parents because it was the right thing to do. We are still best friends to this day and they are living comfortable and happy lives. I started to go through my course work for the sake of learning and bettering myself instead of just doing it to be the top dog. I got mostly A's my junior and senior year in high school. This is when I learned that doing the right thing was more important than focusing on the return. In life, the return will come to those who do the right thing.
Excellence is Self Defined:
This was one of the biggest lessons I've come to learn in life. Everyone has their own definition for what they think is excellence. When I was growing up, it seemed that most people's definition of excellence was strictly proportional to how much money you would make in life or what your career was. When I first started college I wanted to be a chemical engineer simply because of this ideology of what it meant to be successful. After reflecting on what I thought it meant to be successful at the time, I found that I wouldn't be happy continuing on with the path where I thought excellence resided. This is when I decided to become a teacher. I found that I was happiest while I was tutoring in college because I felt like I was helping people. Many of my college professors wanted to see me become a professor or a scientist because that was their viewpoint of excellence. To me though, I saw that helping future generations become successful in the world was the most noble thing to do and it made me happy. This was my definition of excellence. After making the change to become a teacher I was not only happier but I was more successful than I ever was prior to making this decision. That is when I realized that true excellence is self defined. Who's to say that the teacher who pours their heart and soul into inspiring kids to do great things with their life is less successful than the CEO of a cooperation that makes millions of dollars? The truth is they are not less successful nor are they less excellent. So long as we abide by the former lessons that I have come to learn throughout life, excellence is truly self defined.
This was one of the biggest lessons I've come to learn in life. Everyone has their own definition for what they think is excellence. When I was growing up, it seemed that most people's definition of excellence was strictly proportional to how much money you would make in life or what your career was. When I first started college I wanted to be a chemical engineer simply because of this ideology of what it meant to be successful. After reflecting on what I thought it meant to be successful at the time, I found that I wouldn't be happy continuing on with the path where I thought excellence resided. This is when I decided to become a teacher. I found that I was happiest while I was tutoring in college because I felt like I was helping people. Many of my college professors wanted to see me become a professor or a scientist because that was their viewpoint of excellence. To me though, I saw that helping future generations become successful in the world was the most noble thing to do and it made me happy. This was my definition of excellence. After making the change to become a teacher I was not only happier but I was more successful than I ever was prior to making this decision. That is when I realized that true excellence is self defined. Who's to say that the teacher who pours their heart and soul into inspiring kids to do great things with their life is less successful than the CEO of a cooperation that makes millions of dollars? The truth is they are not less successful nor are they less excellent. So long as we abide by the former lessons that I have come to learn throughout life, excellence is truly self defined.
Seek and Summit Your Mountain:
This is my philosophy on life. We all have our own ideas of what we think will make us happy and what we think defines success. The point of life is to determine these ideas for ourselves and to give our all towards making these dreams and aspirations come true. I've summit many mountains in my life both figuratively and literally. I've summit the mountain of being a second team all state soccer player in high school. I've summit the mountain of graduating high school. I've summit the mountain of becoming a published scientist. I've summit the mountain of achieving the national undergraduate physical chemistry student of the year award. I've summit the mountain of graduating college. I've summit the mountain of being one of the top students in my graduating class. I've summit the mountain of being a loving and caring dog owner. I've summit the mountain of being a supporting and loving friend. The best part about life though, is that there are so many more mountains I want to summit. I am working towards the summit of being an excellent teacher, I am working towards the summit of getting a masters degree, and I am working towards to summit of being a better individual. The mountains will never run out and there will always be a summit to climb. That is who I am and that is my philosophy on life. Experience over outcome. Effort over fortune. Integrity over return. Excellence is self defined. Seek and summit your mountain.
This is my philosophy on life. We all have our own ideas of what we think will make us happy and what we think defines success. The point of life is to determine these ideas for ourselves and to give our all towards making these dreams and aspirations come true. I've summit many mountains in my life both figuratively and literally. I've summit the mountain of being a second team all state soccer player in high school. I've summit the mountain of graduating high school. I've summit the mountain of becoming a published scientist. I've summit the mountain of achieving the national undergraduate physical chemistry student of the year award. I've summit the mountain of graduating college. I've summit the mountain of being one of the top students in my graduating class. I've summit the mountain of being a loving and caring dog owner. I've summit the mountain of being a supporting and loving friend. The best part about life though, is that there are so many more mountains I want to summit. I am working towards the summit of being an excellent teacher, I am working towards the summit of getting a masters degree, and I am working towards to summit of being a better individual. The mountains will never run out and there will always be a summit to climb. That is who I am and that is my philosophy on life. Experience over outcome. Effort over fortune. Integrity over return. Excellence is self defined. Seek and summit your mountain.