Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Self Help? I wish I could.

Have I ever complained about my apartment complex?

I'm sure I have. Well, maybe not since Spiders & Roaches & Flies, Oh My!

I think it's due time. Especially considering the crappy shuttle they provide to take me to and from campus. It always breaks down. And yesterday was one of those special days.

It broke down mid-day, leaving me to figure out on my own which rental bus was ours.

So today I get out of class just as the shuttle arrives.

As I approach the bus, I notice another bus in front of it that looks exactly the same. I'm 90% sure this bus is ours, so I hop on. When I get on, I recognize the guy in the back, so I'm confident this is my bus.

We're driving along when I realize we didn't turn on the street we are supposed to turn on.

What is this lady doing? I think to myself as I perk up and look around me.
haha this lady is new and she doesn't know where she's going.

I figured she would figure it out.
I go back to texting, and a couple minutes later peek my head up and look out the window. Uhhh.. this is not the way to my apartment.
 
I don't know where we are going, but we aint going home.
 
Yeah, wrong bus.

Anyway, I didn't let that wasted hour get me down. Instead, I skipped class and went to the library.
Yeah I went to the library.
 
I don't even read - Ironic? maybe. Hypocritical? I don't know.

I mean I have the shortest tension span ever. I want to read. I really do. I love literature and that's why I like to write. But I can't sit there for days at a time just reading. I just can't.

But I heard about this book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and I thought to myself, SELF, I gotta read it!

I mean, I just admitted to you my dream of being a quotoisseur. I want to be effective!!

And plus, it'd be nice to pick up a good habit for a change.

So I went to go pick up this book.
I haven't been to the library since I was little. So as I'm walking in I have all these flashbacks. I walked through the alley where Mom told me the homeless people pee. And sure enough, it still smelt like pee.

As I reached the escalators I had to stop myself before going down to the kids section. I'm pretty sure that's the only section I've ever been in. It's hard to break habit.

While I'm looking for this book, I start reading the titles around me. The Pocket Therapist, The Hidden Power of the Heart, Happy at Last, Why Are People So Crabby?

YES. These titles interest me. I have an unhealthy addiction to skimming through self help books. I don't know, maybe it's the idea that you can help yourself without admitting to others you have problems, or the deep, meaningful stories shared inside. Most of the (5) books I own are self help books, and even though I've never read through them entirely, I love getting ideas of how to help myself just by reading the table of contents.

Looking at books is like looking at appetizers. You read the title and it interests you, so you read the description and suddenly you have to have it.

So by the time I get to the book I came here for, I have four other books in my hand. FOUR books, that are due by March 9th.
Like I'm gonna read four books by March 9th.

I've always been this way. I would always go to the library, pick out a ton of books, and let them sit on my floor (or get lost) until Mom took them back to the library.
 
But this time I know I probably won't read the books; however, I look forward to skimming through them.

2 comments:

Ashalee said...

I attended a leadership conference. One of the main focuses was focusing on each of the 7 daily habits. I was blown away by the conference and I definitely feel these habits truly are the daily habits of highly effective and moral people.

Good luck! I hope you get some great pointers!

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76lDJlhl7pM