Yes I am a big screw up…I’ve screwed more times than I can count…and I can count really high.

Are you impressed yet?

I’m not really bragging I’m just telling it like it is…actually I am bragging a bit…more on that later.

Why would I even want to tell the world that I’m a big screw up?

I’m actually proud of my accomplished mistakes.

Yes you read that correctly, not only am I comfortable divulging my screw ups, I’m also a bit proud of them. I’m proud of them because all my mistakes have shaped the person I am now. I’m pretty fond of that person and wouldn’t want to change that.

I’m not going to tell you all my mistakes…I know you have better things to do then spend a week reading a long ass post. Besides, that’s not the point I’m trying to make.

I am a recovering perfectionist (did I spell that right?) myself. That alone has prevented me from doing a lot of things in life. From my younger days, For example, not calling a girl because I didn’t have the perfect line to persuade her to go out with me. I had zero chance of going out with her if I didn’t talk to her. If I wasn’t stuck on trying to be perfect, at least, I would’ve had some chance of scoring. The wrong action is better than no action, in most cases.

“Don’t worry be crappy” – Guy Kawasaki

I think about that quote every time I get caught up in the perfectionist trap. You know what I’m talking about, waiting for that magic word to complete that post or the perfect spice to throw in that chilly.

I’m not saying that I’ve lowered my standards or suggesting that you lower yours. All I’m saying is, don’t let your high standards prevent you from getting things done. That perfect novel isn’t doing any good if its stuck on your shelf because your waiting for that perfect paragraph to tie it all together. Unpublished books don’t win awards…at least I don’t believe they do…there is a lot of award shows these days.

Most peoples standards are not as high as ours anyways…most of the time. Chances are that they don’t even care about that minor detail that you’ve been stressing over for a month. In fact, you might even find out that they cared about something totally different then you thought. You would’ve never known if you didn’t at least put something out there…are you getting my point?

Just like Guy Kawasaki say’s “Don’t worry be crappy” unless your about to perform brain surgery (assuming your a doctor)…then don’t.

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As I stated in an earlier post, I’m not into the whole New Years Resolution thing. So I came up with some something that I believe is much more sustainable. I’m sure I’m not the only one to take this approach…but to make things simpler we’ll just say that this is my totally original bad ass idea (Dang I’m good).

What I am proposing is this, don’t have a resolution, have a theme. My theme for this year is…

“Rock It Out”

What does that mean? “Rock It Out” is a catch phrase that I like to use all the time. Sometimes for impact I might throw in an expletive (for impact), “Rock That S___ Out” for example.

Definition:

“Rock It Out”

Function: Verb

1: Get something done in an awesome way, much like a band would rock the house (Screaming fans chanting “Encore”…”Encore”).

Example: I’m going to Rock It Out this year.

Rather then focusing on a couple of things that we’re not going to do anyways…at least not after the first couple of weeks. Why don’t we just come up with a theme that we can interweave throughout the year.

Instead of trying to change all our habits at once it would be much more sustainable to make our good habits even gooder.

(Note to self: Rock out my grammar skills)

Lets all “Rock It Out” this year and beyond!

Whats your theme going to be?

Photo Credit: Souterrainman

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This is where I’m supposed to get into all the great things that I want to do this year. Well, I’m not going to do that…why? Both you and I know that all this new year resolution stuff is a bunch of crap. I’s been turned into something that everyone says but few actually do any thing.

We get all fired up and hit the ground running (for a week) until it becomes apparent that we actually have to do some work to fulfill our lofty goal.

I’m not going to get all high and mighty, in fact I’m am very guilty of this common practice myself.

There’s no reason to subject another treadmill to it’s ultimate fate of being piled up with a bunch of crap in the garage.

I think you get my point…

I don’t want 2010 to be an awesome year…2010 WILL be an awesome year!

The keyword being “will” and not “want”. By stating “want” we are programing ourselves for failure. It’s like saying, “I would like to…” or “it would be nice…” Why would we want to start a new year with a built in failure factor (I like that).

The bottom line is this, 2010 is going to be a kick ass year. It’ll be better than 2009 but not as good as 2011. There is one thing that I will always do, regardless of the time of year…challenge myself to be the best that I can be.

By the way, I’m giving you all permission to kick me in the ass if I don’t live up to that.

Have a BAD ASS YEAR!

-Nick

Photo Credit: Justin Gaynor’s

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This is a guest post by Christie at IntrovertZone.com a blog where she writes about how introverts can be happy at work and at play.

People put others into boxes all the time. We’re usually not consciously trying to hurt anyone; we just do it as a shortcut to make things more manageable. By making assumptions and generalizations from what we’ve already observed about the people around us, we reduce everyone to quick and easy formulas instead of the complicated creatures they actually are.

I even hear people putting their own kids in boxes all the time. “He’s shy. He always acts like this.” Sometimes they are nice boxes we think are pretty containers, “She’s my little artist!” Often we build boxes for ourselves. “I’m not a morning person.” “I have two left feet.”

Familiar boxes may be comfortable sometimes, but since they do not allow for us to fully explore all of the things we might do or become, they don’t help us; they diminish us. And if we allow ourselves to get too comfortable in a box, we may never be able to grow personally to reach our full potential in each area of life.

What a shame if we are interested in writing or horseback riding or acting yet never try to write, never go on a trail ride, and never try for a part in community theater because “I’m not that type.” I hear that sort of thing all the time, even worse when it’s said to or about others, “YOU want to try that?”

To avoid embarrassment, some of us may be tempted to stay in our boxes because the people around us make such a big deal about it when we step out of them. One thing I always found very liberating about going to a new job or other situation is that no one already has me in a box. If I wear something new or announce I’m about to go hiking at Yosemite, no one says, “You’re not the dress-up type!” or “Yosemite! What are you doing!” but actually I have learned over the years not to let boxes contain me, because often life has ripped those boxes away from me (to be quickly replaced by other boxes I create).

When I was a teenager, I was positive I was hard-wired to be a morning person and a dog person. Then later my work schedule turned me into a night person, and the homeless feline at my door turned me into an avid cat person. It’s really not too hard to stretch those restrictive labels we create for ourselves, and sometimes the results will open doors for wonderful worlds we never imagined.

When I was in my mid-thirties, I thought I was getting pretty old and I lived a life I thought was appropriate for someone of such advanced age. I mainly played with computers, read fiction, walked nature trails, and cared for animals. But a mild injury to my arm led to a prescription for strength training.

I was secretly thrilled! I had always wanted to lift weights but thought that didn’t easily fit with the box I had created for myself. Soon I was going to the gym three times a week, and I added walking five miles each weekend morning plus whatever walking I could squeeze in after work because I loved it.

When I reached my 40th birthday I was stronger and fitter than I’d ever been in my life, and my life was very different than it had been in the old folks box I had resigned myself to earlier. Some things from the box were keepers, of course, but I did not need the restrictive box sides. I had burst out of a box labeled “Old and Settled.”

What box are people putting you into that you would like to break out of?

Sure, if you announce that you’re about to try something new, your family, friends, and coworkers might make remarks about it. They are much more comfortable when everyone stays in their assigned boxes! Who cares what they think!

photo credit: ZOE

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