h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been thinking recently (yep bad thing to do as I normally get hurt by my brain ) about a number of things but mainly this. I have been accused of doing an ostrich, that is sticking my head in the sand and not challenging myself by coming out of my comfort zone and doing better for myself work wise.

I notice that I also acted like an ostrich when it came to the stretcher competition and am kicking myself for not being brave enough to have a go. I guess I was worried about the critics comments and me not being *perfect* enough for their liking.

Perfection and competition have been things that frequently come up throughout time just look at the Egyptians and their pyramids, the Romans and their roads etc, the Greeks and the Olympics and the Victorians with the ideal white females being seen as perfect when compared to the Hottentot Venus.

So I guess the question I am asking is am I right in acting like an ostrich (afraid of being killed in the living game of chess) or am I doing myself no favours and thus not learning from mistakes or whatever you can think of...I'm rambling I know its late.

You mean Opti: your not perfect Ohh! Nooo!I thought there was surely one perfect person inthis worldHey there goes my belief system-which i had carefully cultivated-replacing the Hottentot venus with you as the head of a pantheon of much less worthy semi-demi-psuedo-dieties.

Thanks for coming clean-at least you are honest-are you sure your not perfect.......no you wouldnt joke about such things; but to me you will allways remain an OptDeity!

Nowis there a spare hole for me to plunge my head into for a while till this has all passed over?

So! I would say , yes its not cricket Opti sticking your head in a hole-but seeings i am was(?) -under your spell maybe you should ask someone else also.<

hi opi
-
i found at times that sticking the head in the sand, was the riht thing, then when you feel like letting lose, just say to yourself, "what the heck"time to wake up and smell the coffee.
-
in the past year i have done things more than i would never do, i wrote my one and one edited guide, ive started to send any guides ive done to the post, that where just laying around, i even went to my first, and probably one h2g2 meet all the way to hull last july.
-
im a loner, i dont step outside the door after,say 7pm, i have only two mates now, all are dead or just gone.
-
im now on my own, after 8 years my lodger is married and gone.
-
i do come out of my shell, but go back, dont like the world in big doses.my ecuse, im old in the tooth, you are young, so take the world and shake it, and say, shell, what shell lol jim xx

Opti with me it is my fear of maths by going on courses. On other things taking part in various schemes to get back into work. I have been accused of not wanting to leave my comfort zone, in not trying different activities (I cannot remember which ones) from course tutors. Sometimes it is because I am not a bubbly character and they would like me to strange from a quiet person, to a go-getter like themselves and become a high-flying exuctive. You are perfect as you are Opti and I am sure you will in the end be able to follow the job that you really want to have.

Hi Jim,

'smell the coffee'



I'd never heard that (American) before yesterday, but now I've seen it written twice in two successive days

Hi Opti,

It's very easy to be self-criical, Opti; most people are their own biggest critics . We are all individuals with our own strengths amd weaknesses. It's best not to try and fight our weaknesses, but to capitalise on our strengths when looking for jobs
For example, I went to a seminar on Aspergers Syndrome on Friday. People with AS are frequently happier in their own space but can have obsessive, narrow interests e.g. collecting train numbers. However, they also frequently have higher thn average IQ. The course leader said that she has known people with AS become librarians, mathematicians, scientists...

What does your bf think? He probably s you as you are

I have the same tendency, Opti. Wish I didn't, but there you have it.

Opti, no-ones perfect: ther is not such a thing-unless you have a strong faith in God which i will not argue for or against-that is a personal thing-myself i belive there is one thing that *i* personally can do better than anyone in this whole wide world ; and thats being me: i hope i dont come across slightly mad sometimes(after re-reading my first post here)-it is good to have feelings, however-i think-i supose it is how you express them; but for all the human qualities i can put my finger on-kindness reigns supreme-i think.

"mindfullness-and practice", is about the best bit of advice i have ever heard

Yes good advice earler-taking the bull by the horns while your young-

"When you are the anvil-bare;
______when you are the hammer-strike!"

hi bigal
-
its an english saying i think, like saying"dont sit there get off your bum",sorry no pc so cant google for it lol . jim

I am a bit like Jim, only the shell I live in is so thick that even I cant crack it, and like Jim the only real mates I had are either dead or I have lost contact with them

The only time I get out of the house is to go shopping for food, and I hate that, as I have anxiety attacks? We have recently started buying in those ready made meals which is great, as it saves all that hassle
Also a loner, and have no idea what I would do if I lost Mk2, yet I know that has yet to come So I will have to worry about that when that time comes.

I think that is the reason I now struggle to find a subject for my Snippets, I should, as they say,....get out more<winkeye

Smudger.

You and me Both Smudger - get out more I mean. Shopping is my only outing at the moment, and I don't enjoy it, it is too much of a rush to catch the back, or wait an hour!

I hope things will feel better when the lighter nights come and some sunshine hopefully.

Take care,

Websailor

Opti, you are young - don't let that attitude take hold, or you will regret it for the rest of your life - take it from one who knows. You can overcome it, but you have to want to. I did for twenty years, but it is creeping back now, so I need to shake myself too.



Websailor

'So I guess the question I am asking is am I right in acting like an ostrich (afraid of being killed in the living game of chess) or am I doing myself no favours and thus not learning from mistakes or whatever you can think of...'

Pedantic point: Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand. They put their heads low to the ground to scan the horizon better, and it works by silhouetting any approaching figures more easily. If they did bury their heads, they'd suffocate - not an ideal survival trait.

Even so. No. You're not right in acting like that. You're young and wonderful, and you haven't figured out just how great you are in different areas yet. You never will unless you challenge yourself. Find your limits, then try to pass them. Dream a little about what you could be, what you could achieve, and see if you can do it. You'll surprise yourself surprisingly often.

To take your chess analogy, imagine if you got reasonably good at the game then spent your entire life beating 10-year-olds who had just learned how to play, never daring to take on an opponent who was even your equal. You'd have the shallow satisfaction of a series of hollow victories against weak opposition. To my mind, you'd learn more from losing to a Grandmaster a couple of times; study what they do, imitate and be inspired by their moves, learn from them rather than fearing them. But the great thing about life is you get to choose which you prefer. Do you win easily, or challenge yourself an be prepared to take a few knocks?

You can beat the best, Opti

hi
-
like most older people, we tend to think, if ide gone right, when i should have gone left, what would i be now.
-
all my life ive fought the system in one way or another, if ide gone the uni, then a god job, become rich, would i be any happier, nah, money is the route of all evil.
-
as long as i have food on the table, the bills paid, can get out each day, weather permitting my content. jim

Greetings Opti
This is a theme I have struggled with almost my entire life
There are times I have been unbelievably brave (well, in retrospect, it seemed that way) and other times, I have truly been the Mother Of All Ostrich Dancers (put your head down, slide to the side, close your eyes and hope the problem goes by)
I believe one does what one Has to do to survive however there Are times, when we simply need to be a bit more brave, a bit more adventurous, a bit more willing to stare that challenge in the face (no matter how ugly or intimidating it may seem), and say, , "I'm gonna kick some booty"
Laters,
Cherry
(Lover Of All Things )

hi all
-
i think ive be the ostrich from my schooldays,
-
i was a loner, didnt fit in, wore my cousins hand me downs,
-
had no freinds, or schoolmates.
-
it was the same when i started my first job at 15,
-
and its carried on till im now 61
-
ive lived, here,ther, and everywhere, any freinds would at some time do me down, borrow never pay back, turn on me.
-
i never fight anyone personally. but will fight the housing and system if i have to, day after day, till the day i can no longer do it.
-
as long as i have my box to here, the pc at the cyber, i can get out and about. i,ll keep my head out of the ground.
-
ive been on h2g2 for 5+ yrs, and its only this week i added my 5th offering to and found im now a postreporter. and two new badges. ive added to my space, i earned them, so its head up, and full steam ahead.
-
jim