Chris’ Midterm Report Card aka All Downhill From Here!
This past week marks the halfway point on my betterment safari, and it would seem appropriate to take stock of what I’ve done so far. Honestly, I’m dreading this – while there’s been lots of useful self-reflection, I’ve made less progress in the area of meaningful action. In my defense, my path to betterment was obstructed by that 3-month stint in the US, working on a TV show about cops busting college co-eds for making bad choices. As I recorded one poor topless girl vomiting into a dumpster, I tried to work back through the life choices that had gotten me to that unique moment, as I’m sure she was too. Any differences between us could be reduced to this – she had neither a shirt nor her dignity, whereas I, at least, had a shirt.
I digress. As one great philosopher once said “Do, or do not. There is no try”, so I will dispense with excuses. I’ve dusted off the Better MAN-ifesto, in which I laid out the steps I’d take to be better, and now we’ll see how many of them I’ve taken.
PROJECT “MY BAD”
- I will retrace my steps and re-visit my mistakes (there are a few), fix what I can, and own what I can’t.
GRADE: PASS – I have no job, I’ve sold my house, I cashed in RSPs to pay bills, and my ex-girlfriend has taken every cent I have. Mistakes are just about the only things I own these days.
- I will be harsh and unsentimental in my self-assessment.
GRADE: PASS – as a villian in the movie “3:10 to Yuma” said “It takes a big man to see how small he is”
- I will seek counsel from people I KNOW have an opinion on how I could be better.
GRADE: PASS – Reaching out to people to have them tell me what they think of me – check. Reaching out to people to have them tell me what they think of me without clothes on? Check. A pass if there ever was one.
jac
Actually…you’ve already missed 4 sibling birthdays… the next birthday is moments away.. you can still get a card to him in time if you send today…. and after that you only have one more sibling birthday to remember and I’ll give you plenty of lead up time to that important day so you can produce the most amazing and perfect present and homemade card.
The Bitter Man
There had better be money in that card too …. tick tock!
Chris
Well, so long as I don’t miss your birthday, we’re cool, right?
Katie
I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since you started this!! Do you feel better?
Chris
Not as better as I would like to be. I need to do more shit that scares me, full stop, and that hasn’t happened often enough. I know it’s a lame excuse, but actually making money tends to get in the way. What’s more, I’m starting to think that getting better requires a lifetime, not just a year.
Chris
Tragically, I feel only marginally better, and only because I’ve learned to deal with constant crises as opposed to made tangible progress. Mind you, when I was in school I always did my best work on the night before the assignment was due, so maybe December will be profoundly life-changing.