10 Reasons I Don’t Give a Damn (and Neither Should You)

6 min readMay 29, 2016

1. Not my monkeys, not my circus.

You are the ring leader of your mind, emotions, spirit, and body. The combination of which creates a complex universe that is the story of your life. The one perspective you see is your own; attempting to see as another is to collide your galaxy into theirs. Appreciate their moons and stars, perhaps even visit their constellations, but return to the home of you.

2. Compassion > Empathy

Empathy says, I am here with you. Compassion says, I am here for you. If a friend is drowning, barely keeping their head above white waters, you do not jump into the rushing river, for then two would die. That is the mind of empathy. Compassion finds a life-float and pulls them to safety. No matter how badly someone feels, you cannot make them feel better by feeling bad with them. Just as, when one is dangling from a cliff, you do not leap to break their fall. You pull them up.

3. My Basket of Fucks

Imagine a carton of eggs. You have one dozen fucks to give, and still, until those babies are hard-boiled, they easily crack. My rule of thumb, never put more than one egg in anyone else’s basket. You get an egg! And you get an egg! But not you, cause mamma has to make omelets in the morning.

4. The Response-ability of Selfishness

Selflessness gives all their eggs away and makes promises to give everyone else an egg as soon as one is found. Selflessness is always hungry. Selfishness recognizes that they cannot provide for another if their own needs are not met. Selfishness takes response-ability for their actions and reactions because they recognize they gave away too many damn eggs and it made them cranky. In other words, giving is natural when our cup is full. When our well is running over we grab buckets to give love away.

5. Part of the Whole

Together we are massive. The truth of life is that nothing is done alone. No matter how you look at it, someone’s body stretched to accommodate your growing cranium. You came into this world a total mess, don’t let tv shows fool you. Babies come out gross and life just gets messier from there on out. Not giving a damn doesn’t mean apathy; it’s the determination to improve with the mindset to relax.

6. You Are Loved

I don’t care who you are: you are loved. Dwelling on what you can’t do or didn’t do perpetuates the feeling which springs into unwanted action. Next time you hear a love song, let it be to you. Let it be a love song from the Universe singing directly to you.

7. I Am the Hero of My Story

Warriors are made in battle. Life is lived on a multitude of levels, and like a good video game, it gets more challenging when you level-up. Our life is the hero’s journey in real-time and cyclical repetition. We are called to adventure, face trials and setbacks, and return with bounty whether material or otherwise. Which means, I’m Frodo. I’m Sailor Moon. You’re Sam or Venus. Vice Versa, you are the lead in your life and I, your wing-woman. The universe may not revolve around Earth, but our life revolves around us. You are always at the center of your own life. You are the hero of your story.

8.Success is Delusional…Until It’s Not

Imagine the greatest you can for yourself, because I promise it’s better than that. We can only synthesize in our minds a reality which is somewhat familiar. Therefore we expand our sense of worthiness in steps. Let yourself imagine and enjoy the best possible outcome as long as it feels good to do so; when it doesn’t feel good, move on to simple things that do. As you accomplish goals, big and small, commend and reiterate to yourself the ways in which you accomplished them. Notice how you speak with yourself. Do not say to yourself a thing that you would not say to another. Treat yourself as you wish to be treated. The world will take notice.

9. We’re All Doing the Best We Can

We want to grow up so badly when we’re kids, because we haven’t lost our sense of freedom. We hear the adults mumble on about their problems, but we don’t take ownership of them yet. We’re too distracted by the crack in the sidewalk that our tiny feet can stand on or the way one bird is chasing another from tree to tree. At some point, we realize how the world works. With this discovery comes many questions from which the desire to change it, escape it, or participate in it arrives. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to thrive (versus survive) in this world. I don’t give a damn is to say, I will give no fucks to nay-sayers; this world must be good and I will fight to prove that until it is true.

10. Teach by Example

Words die. They grow cliche or foreign; they fade with translation and lose meaning under repetition. Communication is different. To communicate is to set aside pride before ever uttering a word, is to let go of past and future to dwell in a present state of understanding. To consistently intend to communicate is to consistently die to vanity. Not in opposition to selfishness, communication is found in the silence between words which whispers peace instead of war. Words are a tool and as such we use them best to express what our heart, mind, and soul agree upon. Anything less is hearsay.