Substance

I had an amicable but heated debate with a friend about what matters more: the goalpost or the substance behind it.

The question was titles and public recognition versus real mastery. Is it better to be called a master, or to actually be one?

Superficiality

His view is hedonistic: what matters is enjoying the thing, not whether it means something. Mine is that pure enjoyment is less than enjoyment plus substance.

He argues life is ephemeral, so the flavor of the experience matters more than the journey that got you there. I counter that we live in a superficial society that values perception over substance.

Substance wins when the goal is real competence or lasting satisfaction. Shortcuts and optics often deliver the appearance faster, but they frequently hollow out the thing itself; skills, character, relationships, health.

Earned versions tend to be more durable and meaningful because the process changes you, not just the result. His hedonism holds if pure pleasure is the only metric; it collapses if depth, self-respect, or genuine ability matter.

Take building muscle as an example: What often counts is simply looking muscular; it doesn’t matter if drugs got you there. The alternative is being muscular and carrying the intrinsic value of what it cost: time, discipline, effort, and becoming stronger physically and mentally.

Some things are more valuable when earned than when bought.

We live in the Ozempic era.

Paths

His closing line is always some version of “enjoy your bumpy road.”

But how do you become actually good at something without one? I’m not forcing myself onto hard paths for the sake of it.

I want the substance, even if the road is full of stones and thorns.

I’m not afraid of the bumpy road.

I’m more afraid of not truly being able to walk a bumpy road.