Things I Can Do Better (And Why I’m Telling You This)
I’m not perfect.
In fact, I’m yet to find anyone who’s even close. We can all improve in one way or another. And if you think you can’t, well, then you need to improve your ego.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my weaknesses over the past couple of weeks. I think it’s important to stop and take stock every now and then. A little bit of introspection never hurt anyone.
The thing is, if you want to better yourself as a person then you need to know what needs improving, right? You need to know what to drill down on.
Well, I identified three areas where I’m particularly lacking, and I’m going to talk you through them. I’ll explain why later on.
Making Things About Me
I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this, but I’ve recently caught myself doing it a lot and it annoys me, so god help the people I speak to.
Here’s the scenario. A friend or colleague will tell me a story about somethign that happened to them. Perhaps they’re looking for advice or simply wanting to entertain.
But sometimes as they tell their tale, I find myself reaching back into my memory banks and finding a similar experience of my own. As soon as they’ve finished, I unleash my story on them.
That’s not what they wanted.
If they wanted advice, then making it about me isn’t going to help them. If they wanted to entertain, then I should let them have their moment.
Instead I try to go one higher. I try to tell a better story.
Why do I do this?
Perhaps it’s something to do with the inherent storyteller in me. I love telling stories and the chance to share another one is too good to miss.
Maybe it’s because I have no advice to offer and so my mind simply jumps to a similar experience.
Or is it merely that I want the attention turned to me, like some sort of attention sponge?
No matter the reason behind it, I’m going to try and stop. I’m going to listen to everyone’s stories, and I’m going to discuss it with them. Ask more questions. Offer advice if wanted. Stop making it about me.
Dumbing Things Down
Another quirk of mine is to explain things in a dumbed-down, simplified way. What that means is… no, I’m kidding. But this is a serious problem I have.
If someone is struggling to grasp a concept, or even if they aren’t struggling, I find myself explaining it in absurdly simple terms.
It’s as if I’m talking to a toddler.
And to certain people, I imagine this comes across as patronising and more than a little irritating. There’s nothing worse than being talked down to.
Why do I do this?
Part of my job as a content marketer is to take complex ideas and simplify them for a wider audience. Maybe that bleeds into my everyday interactions.
Perhaps I feel the people I talk to are less intelligent than they are, and so I treat them as idiots.
Or is it that I don’t know enough about a topic myself to get past the basics?
Either way, I’m going to try to stop. I must have pissed countless people off with this habit of mine.
In future, I’ll try to gauge how much understanding they actually have, and tailor my answer accordingly. If I feel I’m dumbing down too much, I’ll ask them if they understand the basics and if I should move on. I won’t treat people like fools.
Dreaming Not Doing
I’m a dreamer.
There, I said it. I like to imagine best case scenarios. In work, in relationships, in my side projects.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with positive thinking. I’m a huge believer in being hopeful and how it helps you achieve things.
But I often find myself so engrossed in my fantasies that I’m not actually working towards making them reality. I’m not doing anything.
A dreamer who doesn’t take action is destined to stay asleep.
Why do I do this?
Could it be that I’m so scared of failure that I want to stay cuddled up with my rose-tinted view of the future?
Perhaps I’m not even sure those dreams are truly what I want, and so I don’t want to head down the wrong path?
Or maybe, just maybe, I’m a lazy shit.
The reason doesn’t matter. What matters is that I start taking action. Leave dreaming for the night, and actually do shit in the day. If I want to make those dreams a reality, I have to work for them.
Why Am I Telling You This?
From a selfish point of view I’m hoping that writing this article will reinforce those areas I need to work on. Not only that, but telling you guys might be the kicker I need.
You guys can hold me accountable. If I start lapsing you can shout at me, punch me on the arm, do whatever you want to help me out.
But there’s another reason.
There’s a lot of content out there. And a lot of that content is written by posers and people who lie to us, and lie to themselves.
They present themselves as perfect gurus, full of knowledge and wisdom and promises of greatness if you just try to be like them.
But the truth is, they aren’t perfect either.
And I think what we all need right now is a little bit of honesty. In a world with mass shootings, sexual harassment, and the threat of a nuclear war, perhaps we all need to take some time to admit our weaknesses.
Maybe then we’ll realise that we all make mistakes, we all have things we can improve on, and we’re all in this together.
Let’s help each other to improve ourselves, and I think the world will start to improve as well.
I mean, it’s worth a try, right?
PS. Please share this article if you found it the slightest bit interesting. I’d love to hear your weaknesses too. And as always, you can follow me on Twitter @thismonkeytypes.
