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ChangingMinds Blog! > Blog Archive > 07-Mar-07

Wednesday 07-March-07

One hit wonder

One-hit wonder, one-trick pony, 15 minutes of fame, lightning strikes once. Many people, it seems, succeed only once, or at least reach a peak which they never regain. Think of pop stars who have one hit, authors with one magnum opus, inventors with one successful invention.

It is as if their genius is a silver bullet that, once spent, can never be used again. There is a lesson that success can never be taken for granted. We may be at the top of the pile today and at the bottom tomorrow never to return. Spare a though for these fallen stars and their bruised identities. Being over-the-hill can be tough. Having tasted the sweet joys of great success, who would want to back to being forever Cinderella. 

So enjoy your successes whilst you may, and if you have just one peak, you can revel in the memories but do also get on with the rest of your life. To live in regret is a terrible waste.

Your comments

But what does one do, if such is the case in your life?

Do you have any suggestions?

-- Iossef V


Dave replies:
Well, if you start from the position that a core goal in life is to maximize happiness, then there are a few things you can do. If you can think about the good times without letting the bad times get in the way, then you can relive and re-experience past happiness. You might also be able to trade on the high spots -- there are many singers who had one hit years ago and still get an audience as a result.

If the bad feelings persist then you could try therapy or otherwise blot out the whole affair and continue as if the peak didn't happen. Happiness can be found in a grain of sand, if you know how to look -- so maybe you could learn to see (take up painting -- you'll learn so much more).

The worst thing would be to wallow in self-pity or drown your sorrows in the bottle or worse. One of the best things would be to find ways to spread happiness to others. Curiously, making others happy is an amazing way of finding happiness yourself.

 Thanks for the advice. Write one on unrequited love as well!

-- Iossef V

Dave replies:
Some say that unrequited love is the best. Perhaps it is a cynical view that finds disappointment in requited love. If you take an idealistic view of life then you are doomed to be disappointed in many things, including love.