“It is not the strongest or the smartest who survives, but the one who adapts best to change.”
— Charles Darwin
This phrase is often credited to Darwin, though it is more of a paraphrase of his idea. The core of natural selection: the advantage goes not to the biggest or most aggressive, but to the one who adapts to new conditions. Darwin observed this in the Galapagos: the finches that survived were those with beaks suited to the available food.
I dropped out of medicine because I could not stand the sight of blood. I never finished theology. My father thought I was useless. Then I boarded a ship and spent five years watching the world. I was not the smartest. I was the most attentive. I noticed what everyone else walked past. If you feel right now that you do not fit in, that you are doing everything wrong, maybe you just have not found your ship yet. Keep looking. Keep watching.