Play Your Part, Don’t Play Yourself

[DISCLAIMER]

On the debut mixtape Indigoism (2013), by hip hop duo The Underachievers (rappers AK the Savior and Issa Gold), is the song “Play Your Part”. Also referred to as ‘play your role’ or ‘play your position,’ one source states that this phrase means to “check yourself’, or ‘act right.”

As an example, the hook of “Play Your Part” states, “Better play your part, nigga, or you won’t get far. Started from the bottom, we was swimming with the fishes. Now, we the New York skyline flying with the pigeons. And I walk with the light, so I think a little different.”

The phrase “better play your part” uses a derivative of a recommendatory demand. For instance, it’s as though the rappers flexibly state, “We recommend that you should play your part in life, or you won’t get far when not acting right.” In essence, this is a malleable form of advice.

Similarly, on the third studio album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! (1989), by historical rapper Ice-T, is the song “You Played Yourself”. Describing this classic hip hop track, one source states:

The song tells details several failures through hubris. One goes uneducated thinking he is a gangster when really he is nothing. Another is a rapper who offends his fans because he thinks he is above them but they turn on him – he is left unemployed with no one because he has offended them all.

Another is a drug addict, paranoid and doesn’t eat. He rips off his family for drug money and they disown him. He then tries to do an armed robbery to get money but accidentally kills someone and ends up on death row.

Regarding the phrase “you played yourself,” one source states that it’s “when you set yourself up to fail.” At the conclusion of the track “You Played Yourself”, Ice-T stated, “Ain’t nobody else’s fault, you played yourself.” Specifically, the rapper eschewed blaming other people.

In particular, he appears to have advocated the helpful practice of admitting personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”). After all, if you don’t play your part, then you play yourself. With this framing, I now turn to a book that I’ve been reading.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

Stoics sometimes attribute one’s played part, role, or position to unfalsifiable entities, such as gods. I don’t support such nonsensical notions, as that sort of absurdity shirks acceptance of personal ownership. As an example, ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus stated (page 339):

Remember that you are an actor in a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright—if a short play, then it’s short; if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well, just as you would if it were a cripple, a honcho, or an everyday person. For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you. That selection belongs to another.

Personally, one recommendatorily shouldn’t “remember” that which is ridiculous. I’m not an actor in a play. For whatever reason, as far as I can tell, I exist. Therefore, I take personal ownership for my circumstances. I’m accordingly playing my part, not playing myself.

Thus, I recommendatorily shouldn’t delude my view by believing that a “playwright” has predetermined my life. That’s absurd! My role is merely to exist, as I’m playing my position. Providing a more rational perspective than Epictetus, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 339):

Marcus Aurelius didn’t want to be emperor. He wasn’t a politician who sought office, and he wasn’t a true heir to the throne. As far as we can tell from his letters and from history, what he really wanted was to be a philosopher. But the powerful elite in Rome, including the emperor Hadrian, saw something in him.

Groomed for power, Marcus was adopted and put in line for the throne because they knew he could handle it. Meanwhile, Epictetus lived much of his life as a slave and was persecuted for his philosophical teachings. Both did quite a lot with the roles they were assigned.

Our station in life can be as random as a roll of the dice. Some of us are born into privilege, others into adversity. Sometimes we’re given exactly the opportunities we want. At other times we’re given a lucky break, but to us it feels like a burden.

As a minor quibble, I argue that nothing ever “feels like a burden.” Something either is or isn’t a burden, as feelings relate to either emotions, or sensations. A burden is neither of these feelings. This minor point of view aside, I appreciate that the authors didn’t appeal to nonsense (yet!).

They instead stated that our “situation in life can be as random as a roll of dice.” I see more evidence for this as likelihood than irrationally appealing to the concept of predestination. Concluding their commentary, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 339):

The Stoics remind us that whatever happens to us today or over the course of our lives, wherever we fall on the intellectual, social, or physical spectra, our job is not to complain or bemoan our plight but to do the best we can to accept it and fulfill it.

Is there still room for flexibility or ambition? Of course! The history of the stage is littered with stories of bit parts that turned into starring roles and indelible characters that were expanded in future adaptations. But even this begins with acceptance and understanding—and a desire to excel at what we have been assigned.

Authors of The Daily Stoic were so close to making a rational argument! Everything up until “a desire to excel at what we have been assigned” was both logical and reasonable. Thus, “Stoics sometimes attribute one’s played part, role, or position to unfalsifiable entities, such as gods.”

I’m not a Stoic, yet I can appreciate some Stoic standards and principles. Rather than deluding my view by appealing to unverifiable entities which apparently have “assigned” a role to my life, I simply play my part, not playing myself, by taking personal ownership for my outcomes.

Perhaps you irrationally believe, not know, that you aren’t personally responsible and accountable for your acts in life. Given this view, since we’re in the realm of nonsense, can you play your part rather than playing yourself? “Better play your part, nigga, or you won’t get far.”

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit (edited), fair use

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