Monday, March 7, 2011

I’m an addict


I love to solve problems.  
I don’t like Crossword puzzles or Sudoku very much, but I do enjoy the challenge of figuring things out. I will take anything apart and attempt to put it back together again. I thoroughly enjoy fixing things.
I get so excited to improve anything and everything.
From finances to customer service; writing to parenting; relationships to faith, I think I can always make it better.
That’s right, I’m an addict.
I’m addicted to self-help material; like how-to books, videos and articles. I spend hours in the non-fiction-self-help section of libraries and bookstores. I write about it, dream about and l annoy my friends and family with it.
But with that being said…
Even I am starting to get sick of the influx of media trying to sell me answers to my problems.
I have a Twitter account, Facebook page and a couple of different email addresses and there is not a day (ssshhheeeshh…a minute) that goes by where my phone and/or computer are not blowing up with quick-fixes for my life.
“I’m fine.  Thank you very much.” is all I want to say sometimes.
On magazine covers, on sidebars advertisements of websites, and in the pages of the newspaper…
If it’s not a better food, it’s a better drink. If it’s not a better body, it’s better clothes. It it’s not better thinking, it’s better medicine. The list goes on and on.
Since when did being ourselves become such a problem? Don’t we like ourselves at ALL?
What is the world coming to? I mean if this is what the media is selling; doesn’t that mean this is what we’re buying?
What happened with being content? What happened to acceptance?
 And what the heck happened to ‘This is Me’.  Like ‘Me or not’.
I admit it (and like I’ve said previously), you don’t have to twist my arm to work hard at fixing something in my life; I am all for advancement, but man, is it just me or is the world on ‘fix-it-overload’?
Everybody knows something that they want to teach you. And as wonderful as it is to want to help others and share our experiences, (I feel like I am one of those people) I wonder if others are sick of hearing it.
Are we asking for the advice or is it unsolicited? And can we even tell the difference?
I’m usually the one who says, ‘Yes, bring it on; let’s do this!’ and lately I feel more like, ‘Shut up already.’
I have to wonder…. when even I am sick of this stuff, what are other people are thinking?
Not one of us on this planet is perfect. Not one of us is pristinely healthy, or perfectly well versed or wonderfully well-behaved  24/flipping/7.  And if someone pretends to be perfect, they are full of it.
How many celebrities have we seen, including presidents of the United States, go down??? Hmmm?
If we were perfect, there would not be these things called faux pas, accidents, my bads, oopsies or #@$! And no one would ever regret a thing and we would never have to say ‘I’m sorry’.
To err is human.
And, it doesn’t matter what type of degree you hold, what your background is, or even how much money you have, you will not be perfect.
So, that leads me to this question; Self-help, I think, is a necessity. Isn’t it? I mean, what would we do without the option of getting better at something, or having the ability and freedom to improve a weakness or downfall? After all, that is our second chance.
This leads me to another question: where is the balance between self-improvement and self-acceptance?
I do not know the answer, but I am determined to find out.
                  (To be Continued…)
A couple of quotes that seemed fitting:
Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.-J. Donald Walters Author, Lecturer
Loving Yourself is Healing the World!-Jaymie Gerard

Truly,
Amber