I took one of my bikes in to the bike shop that I go to. I fully intended to have the thing tricked out with new tires and other stuff. The head guy down there said “we can do this for you -- but it won’t change the bike much, you’ll basically just be spending unnecessary money.” That stumped me -- this isn’t typically the response you get from businesses. This is why I go to this shop -- they are honest to the point of not selling me things I don’t need. That’s both refreshing and odd in today’s environment.
I hesitate to say that this is how I want everything to go though … do I really want the truth and nothing but the truth? Sometimes unwarranted validation and praise are nice. It makes me feel warm and special. The truth sometimes can hurt though. Like I’m doing Weight Watcher’s but I refuse to weigh myself because it will potentially depress me. I think in this “feel good” society we have to prepare ourselves for both the good and the bad. I’ve talked a lot about the need to take off our rose colored glasses in the past (the rose colored glasses are how we choose to see the world, our version of reality) and see things for how they really are. But this is both a tall order and somewhat impossible because our past history will always dictate our perspective. (Example: “So Steve, why don’t you want to weigh yourself?” Ok, in grade school in Sioux City all the kids were weighed and their weights were announced to the whole class and the overweight kids were made fun of … so my whole perspective is jaded to feel ashamed when I don’t hit my weigh target. Truth.)
Bottom line: Our motivations for doing what we do are rooted in our experiences. A friend said yesterday that her day was so bad that the only thing that would fix it for her was to go to the casino and spend money. Ok, well … that doesn’t seem healthy. Others drink to alleviate stress, drugs or food or exercise like crazy. We can react to situations in a “medicating” way (drink, gamble, eat, exercise) or we can accept and move on with humor and grace and humility. This is hard though, but at the end of the day - we will be better off. (more money in our pockets and more healthy behaviors)
How do you react and is it healthy?
