"I stink, you stink, the world stinks!"
How my math teacher changed the way I perceive myself and my surroundings
It’s been a while since I wrote anything. Not just here. My new book is progressing so slowly that I even considered changing it into a novella (I’m planning a 60k-word, 300-page novel). And whenever times like these come around I remember my high school math teacher.
“Tomc, you stink! You stink of manure. You could have an A in math class but you’re getting Ds in [general] class.”
First of all, let me explain a few things. This was the 90’s. Teachers could say shit like that and not lose their jobs. Her words didn’t bother me at all. I wasn’t offended, I was motivated. She was right! I was lazy. I didn’t do homework, I didn’t learn as much as I should have. I stank. She opened my eyes.
There is no writer’s block
So I remember my teacher’s words every once in a while. Especially when my laziness comes out of her creepy hole. You see, writer’s block is an excuse. There is no such thing as a lack of imagination for writers. The pool is infinite. The access is there. Go to the pool, get on your knees, and drink from it! 10 gulps or 3,000. It doesn’t matter. You know where the pool is, you’re just too lazy to go there. You don’t want to walk the walk.
Since I got a smart watch for my birthday I walk more. It counts my steps so I’m motivated to do 5,000 steps daily. Sometimes I don’t hit the mark, sometimes I double it. I need a machine to tell me that I’m lazy and that I need to stand up and walk. Crazy times, right?
Repetition
We all need motivation. Sometimes it comes in the shape of another human being, sometimes it’s a plastic watch. It could be anything really, what matters is our commitment. If you want to be really good at something, you need to practice. You need to repeat certain actions over and over again. That being said, there is no guarantee that you’ll ever be the best. But I promise you’ll be better than when you started.
You can do whatever you want. You can reach your dreams. There are very few limits to what you can achieve. That’s theory. Real life is tough for most of us. But we all know the evergreen saying ‘no pain, no gain’. I know what pain is. I know it well. I don’t know what’s worse for the brain - severe mania or depression. I had at least ten of each. And let’s not forget my atrophy. I’m super lucky I’m still alive, so I don’t mind if I stink a bit.
The Stink doesn’t discriminate
To wrap it up - it’s not just me, it’s the whole world that stinks. All of us could have beautiful lives. There are plenty of resources. There’s plenty of knowledge and technology to make our lives better. More than a decade ago a protester in Ljubljana, Slovenia snapped and yelled something at a politician. You guessed it. He yelled, “You stink!” in his ear. The difference between that politician and me is that he probably forgot about it the moment he sat in the government car, while I will carry the stench with me forever. But today that guy does who-knows-what and I’m a much stronger human being than I was ten years ago.
So fellow stinkers, join me on this journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The path never ends, but we don’t care. We walk and we grow. Forever.