Become a better you

Today, I went for a personal best on a lift in the gym and failed. I had been building up to this for many months and was confident I had it in the bag. I got the barbell about three inches from lockout before ultimately failing the lift. It was frustrating, but it got me thinking about failures in my life. I’ve failed a countless number of lift attempts over the year. In fact, I’ve failed a myriad of times at a plethora of things in my life, but none more so than in school, or so it seems. School has been a lifelong struggle for me. I’m not good at school. Between apathy, a quiet disposition, poor memory,  and the attention span of a goldfish, my makeup isn’t particularly conducive to academic success. I’ve incurred nearly as many defeats as victories during my years in school and never achieved high marks during middle and high school. At one point, I wouldn’t entertain the thought of going to college because I concluded that school wasn't for me. To say I’ve strug...

I wake up every morning to a large whiteboard hanging on my wall. It’s the first thing I see when rising from my slumber. There’s nothing special about the whiteboard itself. Instead, it’s what’s written on the whiteboard that is pertinent to my post. My whiteboard is covered from corner to corner with words–lots and lots of words. In recent years, I’ve become obsessed with vocabulary, and it’s been instrumental in improving many facets of my life and culminating in a better me. The origins of my obsession with vocabulary trace back to a chat I had with a former boss when I was around nineteen years old. “This company is so parsimonious with its budget,” said my boss. “Parsi-huh? What does that mean?” I asked him. I was utterly perplexed by this alien word. I don’t remember his response verbatim, but it was incredibly patronizing, belittling, and left an indelible impression on me. I was so frustrated and pissed off that I would try to the best of my ability to neve...

   Lately, I’ve been waking up an hour earlier than necessary and taking bone-chilling cold showers. Now, you may be asking why. The reason is I’ve been challenging myself to deal with being uncomfortable. Yes, you read that right. I’ve been actively seeking out things that promote discomfort. No, I’m not a masochist. This new undertaking is in efforts to become a better me.      I’ve always been fascinated by the malleability of humans. I’ve spent my entire life partaking in activities that strengthen the body, such as martial arts, lifting weights, and things of that sort. But these activities are enjoyable. The things that I typically avoid are those that are remotely unpleasant. Why do I avoid them? Because they usually entail doing something that makes me uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is something none of us enjoy, but many believe that being uncomfortable is necessary for becoming the best version of ourselves.      My fascination w...