Is there any reason on earth to get out of a warm, cozy bed in the morning, if one way or another, your bills will be paid, you'll have some dough left over, and the birds will still sing, outside your window?

We like to see human beings as incessantly creative, motivated by higher urges than seeking food, shelter, and the perpetuation of the species. Ever since we were given the psychology of Abraham Maslow and his humanistic cohorts, we've been smitten with the idea that people are inexorably rising up the rungs of being-ness to what he called, "self-actualization.”

It's certainly a rosy picture of human nature, but is it true?

Probably, not. To paraphrase Dostoevsky, you can put a man in clover, give him everything he wants, and it won't be good enough.

The obverse of this is also valid: You can deny man certain things, putting him behind the proverbial 8-ball, and then, only then, will he get off his derriere and do something.

Do we learn better from success or from failure?

Is adversity or acclaim a better teacher?

Sadly, it is the challenge, according to historian Arnold Toynbee, that makes man respond with ingenuity, with boundless energy, and with determination.

Oysters, you can get anywhere. But pearls can only be harvested after something irritating, a pesky piece of sand has upset the status quo, maki

ng what was a peaceful environment, disturbed.

So, be thankful when someone abrasive comes along. He's just helping to make you a precious, more valuable gem!

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