The Legacy of the Ranting Walrus

I promise, this is the last philosophy post for a while, hopefully ever. Maybe one day i will find an actual topic to talk about instead of making sweeping generalizations based off of sketchy logic.

As with all philosophy, this was plucked straight from my large intestine. This particular fecal assortment was arranged for my friend, so he could do other things besides his english hw. Enough, now post.

Sitting back in a chair, its easy to reminisce about the old days, when struggles were fought and won, and obstacles were overcome. Resting on your achievements can be a very comforting thing, but aside from comfort, what exactly does a legacy function for? Complacency is the death of motivation. When one feels their job is done, they sit back and relax, forgetting their initial drive that lead them to achieve in the first place. But worst of all, complacency leads to bragging. If one is not currently working to achieve their goals, then what does one say when confronted by this fact? The majority of people find it perfectly appropriate to cite their past experiences to show they have put in the effort and have achieved something, after which they give up on dreaming and end the pursuit of their goals. The only thing they have achieved is a bad excuse for laziness. Those who expect their legacies to carry them to prosperous lands of plenty and joy are deluding themselves. Your legacy will not take you anywhere, it is only a history of things you have done. The only way to get what you want is to get it, and there’s no other way to get it than action instead of talking about how you used to get it. Obviously you don’t get it anymore, and as far as I’m concerned, you’ve given up on trying, yourself, and life, all at the same time.
But there are those that argue having a legacy to lean on can help support an identity, especially in dire times of trying. There are numerous ways to achieve motivation, and some ways have fewer far reaching consequences than others. Those who look to their past to find support for themselves look to different times when certain people reacted a certain way. This is history, the detailed account of how these people reacted under these conditions. Those conditions are unlikely to ever be repeated in the exact same way, so how could looking to the past ever really help one? The situations are different; the people are different; everything is different. The only way to get through these times is to persevere and not lose track of your goals and ideals. For our thoughts really are who we are.