For some reason or other I dislike failing at things.
Seems kind of obvious right? It's not as if anybody particularly likes it when things go sideways, but I don't know if every body takes it quite as hard as I seem to. Perhaps it is because I have a bit of a perfectionist in me; I want everything I do to turn out exactly how I want it, and when it doesn't I'm devastated. Perhaps I just have a melodramatic personality, something that I could easily believe. Or maybe, perhaps, I just set my own expectations a little high when I try to plan out my life. In any case, it just goes crappy.
I'm not referring to the times when I do my best and its not good enough, by the way. I am talking more about the times when I let myself down, where I fail because I haven't been able to meet my own expectations, whether that be turning into the world's greatest doctor or rewriting a 100,000 word book in three weeks while holding down a full time job. In case you missed it, that was a reference to how well my rewrite of Wolfhound is currently going. I'm not really sure that I will be able to make the March 18th deadline I set for myself, or that the book will be ready when I am finished. There just seems to be more to do each time I sit down, and I don't seem to have enough time in the day.
But perhaps this failure is simply an opportunity to learn how to fail correctly. Perhaps I'll learn to pick myself up and continue working hard instead of growing fed up with myself. Or maybe I'll just fail at that too. :)
This post brought by the Cheerfulness Committee of Happiness and Light. Hope all goes well for you guys, and I will see you around!
Showing posts with label Frustrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frustrations. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Five Signs Your Book Needs a Severe Rewrite
1. You get to the end and think ‘Hey, that’s a much better way to write the first half!’
2. Your wife suggests you listen to a podcast that gives suggestions for how to rewrite ruined books.
3. You decide to change the POV that you’ve been using so far, as you write the last fifty pages of the novel.
4. The only thing the same about your main character in the beginning and the main character in the end is the name.
5. You are excited to finish the book, not because it is an awesome story, but because it is over.
As you can tell, I’ve had a rough time with Realm this past couple of weeks. Sigh. Just a few more words to go… Grg.
2. Your wife suggests you listen to a podcast that gives suggestions for how to rewrite ruined books.
3. You decide to change the POV that you’ve been using so far, as you write the last fifty pages of the novel.
4. The only thing the same about your main character in the beginning and the main character in the end is the name.
5. You are excited to finish the book, not because it is an awesome story, but because it is over.
As you can tell, I’ve had a rough time with Realm this past couple of weeks. Sigh. Just a few more words to go… Grg.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
On Futility
Nuts. I was going to try and figure out a way to embed a document on the Game into today's post, but I wasn't able to figure it out in time. Let me know if you have any suggestions along those lines.
On another, definitely unrelated note, my new laptop rocks. :) Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll see you later!
On another, definitely unrelated note, my new laptop rocks. :) Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll see you later!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Why I Hate Bureaucracy
First off, I can never spell the stupid word right. Seriously, I get it so incredibly wrong that the Word spellchecker just kind of stares at me in confusion. Every. Single. Time.
Secondly, it seems like it is a kind of social rot that is encroaching on every part of our society. It isn’t enough to simply be able to do something any more. You have to have some piece of paper in order to certify that you can. You can’t just ask for a position, you have to send in some random information that has little chance of going anywhere but some bulk file in some paper-pusher’s computer, and then ask for a job.
In Mexico, there was a bishop serving in one of my wards who pointed this fact of life out to our young men’s group. He was a professional musician, a piano player, and believe me when I say he had skill. Unfortunately, though he knew what he was doing, and had a lot of experience at it, he couldn’t find employment because he’d never gotten an official music degree. How many brilliant musicians, scientists, philosophers or teachers are we missing nowadays simply because they didn’t go through the paper mill that our school systems have become?
Of course, some would argue that the paperwork is necessary to ensure the people who are given jobs have qualifications. Then again, I would say that just as many people these days manage to have the paperwork and not the skill it is supposed to represent, so the idea that it justifies the whole system rings a little hollow. Especially since I suspect that nobody bothers to check it anyway, so most of these things just sit in somebody’s trash can waiting to fill a dump somewhere.
Perhaps I’m just in a bitter attitude about things lately, but the more and more as I think about it, bureaucracy as we know it consists of trying to hide from the actual world behind a piece of paper. It obstructs people more than it helps them. Doctors spend more time filling out forms than treating patients, scientists are lauded more on publishing than on actual discoveries, and politicians care about statistics more than statesmanship. I have to wonder how far all of this will go before it just all comes crashing down.
Oh well. My view is a little colored by my ‘useful’ Molecular Biology degree in the first place as well as the recent process of filing taxes, so I’m biased. What do you think?
Secondly, it seems like it is a kind of social rot that is encroaching on every part of our society. It isn’t enough to simply be able to do something any more. You have to have some piece of paper in order to certify that you can. You can’t just ask for a position, you have to send in some random information that has little chance of going anywhere but some bulk file in some paper-pusher’s computer, and then ask for a job.
In Mexico, there was a bishop serving in one of my wards who pointed this fact of life out to our young men’s group. He was a professional musician, a piano player, and believe me when I say he had skill. Unfortunately, though he knew what he was doing, and had a lot of experience at it, he couldn’t find employment because he’d never gotten an official music degree. How many brilliant musicians, scientists, philosophers or teachers are we missing nowadays simply because they didn’t go through the paper mill that our school systems have become?
Of course, some would argue that the paperwork is necessary to ensure the people who are given jobs have qualifications. Then again, I would say that just as many people these days manage to have the paperwork and not the skill it is supposed to represent, so the idea that it justifies the whole system rings a little hollow. Especially since I suspect that nobody bothers to check it anyway, so most of these things just sit in somebody’s trash can waiting to fill a dump somewhere.
Perhaps I’m just in a bitter attitude about things lately, but the more and more as I think about it, bureaucracy as we know it consists of trying to hide from the actual world behind a piece of paper. It obstructs people more than it helps them. Doctors spend more time filling out forms than treating patients, scientists are lauded more on publishing than on actual discoveries, and politicians care about statistics more than statesmanship. I have to wonder how far all of this will go before it just all comes crashing down.
Oh well. My view is a little colored by my ‘useful’ Molecular Biology degree in the first place as well as the recent process of filing taxes, so I’m biased. What do you think?
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