Just Make It Better

photo by charlottel

People that care about what other people think make choices based on what other people are doing.

They are the same people that say:

That’s not how it’s done.

(Insert name, institution etc) wouldn’t like it.

People just don’t do that.

That wouldn’t look good.

It’s highly likely you’re one of them.

Have you ever said anything like that? Thought anything like that? Have you ever operated based on what something, someone, somewhere decides is good?

Having an opinion other than the status quo can sometimes piss people off.

Weeks after having posting “I Hate Weddings” my boyfriend received a call. The acquaintance who inspired the post was demanding it be taken down.

I never intended her to see it, nor had I thought it was directly about her, given the story was just a catalyst for my message. None the less, an acquaintance (I can guess who now) somehow figured it out and (for reasons unbeknown to me) decided to share it with her.

This is part 3 of my series on weight loss.

As I said before, I used to be twenty pounds  heavier and would like to share what I learned from losing it. I’m not professional in any sense, just an experienced person who has applied a realistic method to losing weight and keeping it off.  Unlike other sites which may list ten tips for good abs, similar to the Crap Detox series, this is designed to create a basic understanding about weight loss, food and lifestyle change. One that should, if you’re open to it, create a paradigm shift with regards to weight loss and its entities.

My love is a beautiful man. He has amazing olive skin and big brown eyes. His eyelashes are super long.  He is adorable. When people meet him they often comment how good-looking our children will be. I thank them, flattered by their compliment, yet I can’t help but think what else will they be?

Throw us in a pot and stir.

His mother is from Aruba.  With a Scottish/Venezuelan mother and a no-one-knows-from-where black father, she’s quite the island mix. His father is Puerto-Rican.

Someone shared this amazing idea with me today. It’s a TED Talks video and it’s an intelligent, original idea. In the video, Joshua Klein talks about how we could use a crow’s superior intelligence to benefit society rather then extinguish them.

He explains how the these animals and others like it withstand human development by adapting to the surroundings we’ve created.

Klein goes on to show surprising research that demonstrates a crow’s swift thinking skills while making their living. His intention with this was to show an alternative to population control.

I recently received my stimulus check.

I originally intended to save the entire $600 bucks for my first vacation in seven years.

But I’ve given it some thought, and since I don’t really NEED the money (as in the real definition of neediness), I’ve decided to use a portion of it to help stimulate someone else.

I am going to donate $100 of my check to Kiva.org and I hope I can get other people to do the same.

This is Part 3 of The Ultimate Crap Detox, which I hope everyone is participating in because nothing is as liberating as freeing yourself from consumerism.

If you haven’t started, please refer here and here to catch up.

This post is easier to cover, but it is still one of the most difficult parts of CD.

As you go along, limiting your purchases and starting the withdrawal process, you may notice that you’ll have an intense desire to spend.Now this may actually be an increased need to spend, it may also just be your minds reaction to not receiving its regular retail fix or it could just be your heightened awareness to how much you do crave obtaining things.

I once pretended that I went to Harvard.

It all started unintentionally when I purchased a cute, pink Harvard t-shirt in Boston while visiting a friend. It fit me well and after a few wears I started to notice that people automatically assumed I went there and treated me differently because of it. I entertained their assumptions often playing along; mostly because it was egotistical and I was twenty and dumb.

As a culture we judge each other based on appearances and we represent ourselves not as who we are, but what we’d like others to think we are.

In this post I am going to dive deeper into differentiating between a need and want and how to start the experience of a Crap Detox.

Dealbreakers

Everybody has the things they believe they need, which really have nothing to do with survival (stilettos, video games, liquor, fancy cell phones). That’s what makes them a want and not a need, right?

Depending on your current financials, the flexibility of this need/want line can differ. But the idea of CD is to remove yourself from feeling like any want is a need, and we will do that by temporarily taking away all but a few, regardless of your income.

I haven’t been watching too much of “The Big Give” but I did catch the first one and the beginning of the second last night while skimming through my bloated DVR.

The only comment I have to make (and let’s face it, there are many to be had) is on the veteran’s they featured on both episodes.

Putting the facts on paper and when not dissecting it any further: they both went to war, fought, came back disabled and now they are struggling to survive because of it.

In swoops the reality show to save the day.