I stepped way out of my comfort zone last night.
I went and saw a movie called The Devil Inside. Guys, let me tell you, the last time I have honestly watched a scary movie was when I was 12 and I was so sucked into the plot I felt that a piece of my soul was torn from my body after it was finished. Everyone else was laughing and joking about the movie while I was in religious amounts of pain. So, when I was asked to go to this movie, I could not help but feel nervous. Yes, it had been 10 years since I was confronted with this option, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through it. I sat down with my girlfriend on the left, my best friend on my right, and my hoodie zipped up as much as possible. That movie ended and I peeled myself off the chair. Thank god no one was in front of me because their chair would have had a constant barrage of my Bruce Lee like kicks fending myself off from demons. In the end though, I actually wasn’t as scared as I thought I was going to be. And this is why I am writing about this today.
I wrote about taking fear along for a ride and showing it how much you have in the tank. Well, I decided to walk the talk last night and really challenge my fear. Of course that movie had a small effect on how fast I fell asleep last night, but in all, I am just as great today as I was yesterday. There is no doubt in my mind that after watching that, I can watch some of the other scarier movies there are out there. I am just not really a blood and guts guy so when I know someone is going to do something ridiculously stupid that is going to end up with a blood splatter on the screen, my eyes shut. There is nothing wrong with admitting you are of any emotion. However, you might start to get into trouble when you begin masking your emotions. Of course there is a time and a place to say and do things, but in all, I really feel that realizing your emotions for what they are and then choosing how you want to act is a process that is much more conducive to success than faking it. I have been guilty of this…and when you fake it that emotion still persists and then people can also tell that you are slightly off. The more you fake it, the faker you are. I have been advised a few times to not write about the things that are troubling me, and while some of these points are relevant, to me…if I am not telling you how bad of a day I have had and the struggles I went through, the why the hell would you believe me when I talk to you about the great days that I have had and the triumphs I achieved. This world is one of opposites, and good days do have an opposite. It will happen.
Just like I wrote last night, 80% of the time you are going to be average. The champions however are made in that 80%…and the true heroes are made during that 10%, the 10% where you are absolutely awful. I remember pitching during a few of those 10% days, where my fastball was mediocre, my changeup was not that impressive, and my curveball was flat. Those are the days that test you and make you into a better pitcher. You can either decide that you suck, or you can decide that you are going to work on something today, and begin working on getting your pitches back. Some of those worst days turned into the best days. I truly believe that you can turn your day around in a second…if you decide to. One of the best things you can do for someone (even though they might get mad at you initially) when they are having a bad day is ask them ‘So what are you going to do about it?’ We love to complain. Our complaints are like a natural high for us. Honestly though, listen to yourself for 10 minutes and see all the complaints you have about things. I check in every week or so and listen to my complaints and then do something about them so I have a clean slate to work on. If you give yourself a clean slate to work on, you have the ability to create whatever you want. I am a list freak. I love writing lists. But I have changed the traditional daily TO DO LIST into a daily BUCKET LIST. I ask myself ‘what would make me incredibly happy to accomplish today?’ And, amongst other things, I write these things down and go after them. No matter what your dream or your goal is, go after it. Never let anyone else tell you that you cant do something.
You have a dream…go get it…period.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project
I agree with you..sometimes you need somebody to snatch you out of your negative “rat race” thinking! I wish my friends would step up more and say: “hey, get over it and rock ´n roll!” I would probably question their lack over sympathy but I think the chock of them stepping up would be so much more satisfying…:)
Love this post! I really liked the Ray Bradbury quote you used at the beginning and I thought it made a perfect connection to the post. I wrote a 40 things to do by the time I turn 40 list and it is a great way to achieve goals. Have a great week!
I really enjoyed your blog, so I hope you don’t mind, that I nominated you for “The Versatile Blogger Award” here:
http://30yearsofgrowingpains.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/apparently-versatiler/
I am not a fan of scary movies. The last one that I saw was in 1984!! Maybe it ‘s time for me to confront my fears (heights, deep waters, & scary movies). Either case, your previous post and this post has me seriously contemplating writing my own bucket list. Thanks for the inspiration!
I like the idea of writing a daily Bucket List! Also, you’re right about those 10% days, and for most of us, it’s not during a spectacular moment that we prove our worth, but in the mundane. For myself, today I made the effort to learn a new step for my dance workout. I’ve been flubbing that step for a while now, and just feeling bad about it. Today I got to the point in my workout where I normally just move on, and went back and practiced until I got the step right. It was a tiny victory, but it made me feel great when I finally realized I was capable of learning the step.
Emotion-faking just isn’t worth it. I’ve done it time and again, and it ended up costing me friends and relationships. But it’s a hard habit to shake when vulnerability scares the crap out of you. My own version of your onscreen demons I guess :).
Great post!