To worry is to be. To be is to worry.
Is it my imagination or are we suffering from approbation inflation? A couple of days ago I walked into Starbucks and placed my regular order[1], a doppio espresso and a raison bran muffin. The barista told me my order was “awesome!” Really? Awesome? What would she have said if I had told her that I [...]
I generally set low standards for myself. This allows me to cheer my small accomplishments. For example, I’m at my proudest when, within fifteen minutes of having finished a large meal, I take a major crap. I figure that matching output to input that quickly proves I’m being efficient. Efficiency is good. It’s goals like [...]
When I hear motivational speakers, with their nauseating hyper-energetic demeanors and their ridiculous, Pollyanna “nothing was, is or ever will be wrong with the world” attitudes, I’m struck with a sudden urge to beat the crap out of them. I guess that means they’re successful. I’m usually not motivated to do anything.
Motivational speakers must have easily taken to the abbreviations that became popular with text and instant messaging because these people were substituting “u” for “you” long before those communication media came into existence. Still today, the motivational jerks never tire of telling you, although I quickly tire of hearing, that you can’t spell success without [...]
The power of positive thinking types say, “if you see something you want in life, go out and grab it.” I’d feel much more comfortable with that philosophy if they added a caveat to the effect of, if what you want is in a store, you should definitely pay for it before you leave. I [...]
There are a number of people in this world who drive me crazy, but the worst are power-of-positive-thinking motivational speakers. They invariably bound up onto the stage, with huge smiles beaming from their oh-so-self-confident faces and exuding enough energy to light up a large city. Then they proclaim, in loud, projecting, oh-so-positive voices, platitudes like, [...]