Dark horses (who emerge unexpectedly) and underdogs (who have the odds against them) are not the same thing. Still, I can think of no better combination as a model for approaching the world.
While one cannot be a dark horse forever, and one is unlikely to be an underdog perpetually, it’s a powerful and satisfying perspective from which to work.
The dark-horse underdog by his or her nature approaches issues without entitlement, without over-confidence. There is, each time, nothing other than the work of observing, assessing, and writing thereafter.
One’s obligations begin anew, without credit for past work, each and every morning.
There are other perspectives from which to view the world, but I believe this to be an especially good way to begin, and carry out, a day’s agenda.
[…] When a board in this town blames residents for dividing a supposedly unified community, that board has lost its way. This community has been divided by socio-economic forces since the Great Recession, and more so since the middle of the last decade. If there have been additional conflicts, the first place an official or professional should look is to himself or herself, not to ordinary residents. That initial introspection is a fundamental requirement of a professional life. The professional looks first to himself or herself, and sees that every day begins anew with that duty of self-reflection. See The Better Approach of the Dark-Horse Underdog. […]