My latest column is up at Project Simplify…
The Not-So-Simple Life: My Own Worst Frenemy
by Lance Brown
No one is a bigger supporter of myself than I am.
No one is a bigger saboteur of myself than I am.
Funny how those two statements almost sound the same if you say them fast.
Self-sabotage is a subject I’ve wanted to tackle in this column for a while now—but let’s face it, it’s kind of a downer of a topic. Who wants to read about someone (or even from someone) who drags himself down? What’s more, how can you take seriously self-improvement advice that’s coming from a guy who admits he systematically interferes with his own advancement?
That’s a very good question. And the answer, which eluded me until recently, is this: who ever said you should take me seriously?
I’m kidding—that’s not the answer I meant. (Though it has a point.)
The real answer to why my nearly life-long efforts at self-sabotage don’t completely undermine my credibility as a student of self-improvement is quite simple: I’m awesome.
Not kidding this time. I really am awesome, and my awesomeness—and my ability to acknowledge it, which is part of the awesomeness itself—is what has allowed me to make forward progress over the years. And I’m thankful that awesomeness-acknowledging part of me exists, because right next to it is this guy:
“Forward progress? What forward progress, Lance? You and I know better…and the facts speaks for themselves. You’re all talk, and bad habits, and big dreams that don’t amount to squat.”
Hard to believe, I know. But yes, there is a part of me that uses the word “squat” as a form of measurement. And, my awesomeness notwithstanding, that part of me is kind of a jerk. It seems to revel in my failures and setbacks, so much so that it has created all sorts of self-perpetuating ways for me to keep failing and being set back. …
0 Comments until now
Be the first commenter!
Add your Comment!