Willing to be the butt of the joke. Willing to be called wrong. Willing to commit so fully to an idea, that you are willing to stand alone if need be to see your commitment out to the end. Willing to fail for the slight chance of victory. Willing to be a so called "try hard".
It;s what you need to be good at this. Good at anything really, that you set out to do. It's laughable that people are willign to judge others like this these days, and willing to chastise them because they actually CARE about something.
I'm obliged to devote myself to my dedication, and will gladly tell people no when they ask for something I simply cannot do for them. I can't cut a session short, I can;t stay out late, and I can't give anything less than all of myself to this pursuit.
I sometimes consider what records would be like if EVERYONE apporached a sport like that, or what the world would be like if every avenue, career, or passion was viewed such as this.
Would it be better? Would it be worse? I can never know. But I know what I've set out to do and set out to become.
ATWR.