I am Hercules (and so are you)

You are Hercules at the Crossroads, you just don't know it yet.

Here's a quick recap of the story if you’ve never heard it:

Hercules is choosing between Virtue & Vice who appear to him as 2 beautiful women.

Vice offers a life of pleasure - Hercules would only know comfort forever.

Virtue offers honor & greatness that will come at the expense of hard work.

Somehow, this choice feels even more relevant 2300 years later.

Hercules naturally chose virtue — we wouldn't have heard of him otherwise.

It's not clear what line of thought led to Hercules’ decision, but if I had to guess, he asked himself something like this: "Which path offers me a chance at greatness?” 

Not what feels good.

Not what is convenient.

Not what makes the most money in the least amount of time.

Hercules wanted to fulfill his potential.

He had been trained to be capable of great things, but up until this point been sheltered.

He embraced virtue and proceeded to literally slay dragons.

But in this modern world, you don't just have to be Hercules, you have to be better. 

You have access to instant pleasure - vice has a bigger advantage on virtue than it has ever had. It now takes a second to spread hate, access pornography, or indulge all of your pleasures.

Maybe greatness doesn't mean anything to you. That's ok.

I personally value discipline, so I often ask myself “What will this decision say about my discipline?”.

When I imagine myself following through with a decision that shows a lack of discipline on my behalf, I get chills. I won’t go through with it.

You are placed at the crossroads not once, but every day. Find the values that make you the best version of yourself, and stick to them.

Maybe you want to be kind. Or supportive. Or reliable. Whatever it is you want to be, make it the North Star upon which you base all of your important decisions.

And like Hercules, keep in mind how your story will look like at the end if you keep taking the path that you have chosen.

You can only get to where you want to be if you know where you want to go.