1. The Revelation. It was only just now that I realized that the venerable Baskin-Robbins flavor "Baseball Nut" is supposed to be a pun. Oh, the "Baseball" part was easy. The ice cream is vanilla with a strawberry ribbon, representing the white baseball with red stitches. But the "nut" part? It's not just because somebody decided that this would taste better if it had nuts in it. It's a play on the idea of a person who is nuts about baseball - a Baseball Nut, if you will. Once I figured this out, the true meaning of "Tax Crunch" followed.
2. The Inquiry. Gentle readers, I posit to you a question, which I would like you to consider and answer in the comments. Which of the following is preferable:
Keep It Real. Recognize the flaws in your personality, but do not attempt to change them, because they are an integral part of your identity.
Fake It 'Till You Make It. Make concerted efforts to overcome your flaws, even if it means being emotionally dishonest with yourself and others.
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2 comments:
I prefer alternative 3, which does not have a catchy name - identify things you do that don't work as well for you as you want them to, and take steps to alter them so that they work better. (As your energy and life permit.) I don't see this as "fake it til you make it," because you are not pretending anything - you're working to effect change, not just pretending that it has already happened and hoping that it will somehow magically "really" happen.
"Keepin' it real" just seems counterproductive. Sitting around saying "I'm miserable, but it's somehow ok because I'm being true to my flaws"? Doesn't do a lot for me. There are plenty of self-internal things that are valuable to be true to - moral/ethical convictions, an underlying understanding of how the world works, etc. - but flaws, not so much. Doesn't mean you don't take them into account (i.e., I'm not going to go try to become a professional actor tomorrow, in part because I have shoddy memorization skills at the moment), just that they're not immutable objects.
Upon self-reflection, I use #2. One of my flaws: oversensitivity. So say I'm upset by something I know I shouldn't be, because I'm feeling particularly petulant that day. I'll act as though I'm not upset. If I feel the act slipping, I'll try to take myself out of the situation. 9 times out of 10, once I get some space and perspective I find out my brain was right. I end up not bothered and glad I didn't say anything stupid. The 10th time, my heart/feelings were right and I just thought it was my bad mood that was making me sensitive. So I speak up. But now I have the perspective and emotional distancee to approach the situation calmly and not be an *ss about it.
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