San Joaquin, CA Hey...

Hey, I am really sorry for not making it to the meeting or to the practice. I have been under some stress lately. My friend is back from Basic, and AIT, in the Army. So I have been trying to hang out with him. Then there is work, and of course, I have a woman to keep happy. A woman who I intend on marrying, so it was really important to me. I am not trying to say anything other than that I am sorry for not coming, and I did want to be there, I just had too much going on this week. Thank you very much Cheryl, for the Lego Mellenium Falcon. That is so awesome. I am totally going to reimburse you for that. And Derek, thank you for the shinai, I am paying you back for that by the way. Anyways. I just got approved to be a Paid-Call Firefighter. All I have to do now is take a physical, and go to the 16-hour academy and I will be ready to put out fires... It is going to be awesome...

 

Let us know if you need us to start any for you, y'know keep you busy, little extra work. We're good like that.

 

yeah, we just want to help!

congratulations on the approval, spencer, and good luck with the academy. i understand the physical is pretty tough, had a friend who went through a long time ago and it was rough then.

it's definitely important to keep the woman happy, i'm sure all the women of the group will back me on that. so no apologies needed. as long as she lets you play with us, you can keep her.

and no, you will NOT repay me for the falcon. it was a gift, so don't even think about it.

 

You will find that whatr gets the most respect with me is to NOT make excuses but to only appoligize. Keep family first, they are your formost honor. Congrats on the shot at the job' time to teach you to eat fire.

 

Speaking of...When are we getting another fire show??

 

whaddaya say, boss? ready to lose all your nipple hairs again?

< You will find that what gets the most respect with me is to NOT make excuses but to only apoligize. >
so, why am i always getting chewed out for apologizing again?

 

Negativity ring a bell? Apoligize when you fail not when you make a mistake.

 

< Apoligize when you fail not when you make a mistake. >

...and the difference is...?

negativity? i'm a ray of sunshine!

 

how about this, "Never fail." i've found it to be a reasonable motto for myself and a more than reasonable rule by which to measure those around me. and i never apologize.

 

I'll atest to that. and failing is a much grander scale,missing a practice not missing a move. no offence spencer you're forgiven.

 

how about this, "Never fail." i've found it to be a reasonable motto for myself and a more than reasonable rule by which to measure those around me. and i never apologize.


For me, since I consider failing to be a sign of being human, my motto is more like, "Fall down 9 times, stand up ten." Failing is part of how we learn. It's when we fail and give up that things are bad. If we don't remember that we can and WILL fail from time to time, if we don't accept that...then when it inevitably happens, we're in no position to deal with it constructively.

So, for me...

Fall down 9 times, stand up ten.

Kinda like that ole Chumbawumba "Tubthumping" song.

"I get knocked down, but I get up again...ain't never gonna keep me down..."



- Kai, wheelin' an' dealin' that ole Jedi preachiness...

 

I agree with Kai When one puts upon themselves the burden of never failing they have set themselves up to fail, in a really big way. Mostly with their self-esteem. Remeber that one man's music is another man's noise just as one man's opps is another man's failure.
I also disagree with Yoda's "Do or do not. There is no try." Most babies don't start off walking without a fall or several hundred but they are trying. Fall down, get up. Continue to try until you succeed or discover you don't have legs. Either way you are doing something which is better then not doing anything and whining.
I also respect Charles' for his comments about not making excuses. Own what you have done or didn't do but don't blame another person(unless it really is their fault) or the carpet, or anything else.
By nature I am a perfectionist that hates needing to be perfect. Years ago one mistake, no matter how small, could send me into a tail spin because I saw it as a failure. I'm better now...most of the time. I have developed the "perfectionist avoidance defense" which means I will do nothing to avoid making a mistake. If you saw my room you would understand.

Okay, enough from me. How are you doing today?

Golda

 

"perfectionist avoidance defense"

Guilty! *raises hand* I think that's why I got labeled an underachiever some, early on in school. It wasn't that I didn't care if I did it right or not. I cared SO MUCH I'd rather do nothing than do it "wrong" and be subject to disapproval. Been working on that a lot, over my life.

 

I believe in failure, I think it is an important part of life. When you fail, you learn what you did wrong, and can improve on it, and know how not to do things the next time they come around. I don't think people should always justify their failures, but realize that they do happen.

 

You are very right, Jerry. Don't make excuses jusst accept that you messed up and go onfrom there. People will respect you much more if you live your life that way.

PS. Just remember that any typing or spelling errors are because Scooter is setting in my lap tapping on the keyboard.

 

just to be clear, i was quasi-joking. in truth, i myself am a headstrong, go-getum' type of person, who doesn't accept failure in myself and doesn't appreciate it in others. however, i'm not wound so tightly that occasionally when something doesn't go exactly how i'd like (or i bring home a "B" etc.) my world comes crumbling down. quite the contrary, it inspires me to re-double my efforts. but i don't really expect other people to never error. that would be insane.

on the other hand, it seems that there is a limit to what every person can take-in when it comes to their perception of failure, both in themselves and in others. it's nice that some people believe that they have, or that they can, learn from their mistakes and move on to become better people. i'm sure it's true in some instances. but not in all.