F*** It

Written By: MrJackBrickhouse (@GotMyShades)

Website: mrjackbrickhouse.org

My Book: Cigarettes & Bad Decisions, The S*** I Wish I'd Known

Decisions, Decisions! Every day that we wake up, we are forced to make thousands of them. While some are very simplistic such as choosing to open your eyes, once you have realized you have been blessed with breathing the breath of another day, decisions for many of us begin to get more complex as the day progresses. As you lay in the bed, contemplating the exact time you have to roll out of bed so that you don't start your hectic day behind, you are bombarded by choices. You grab your phone and see a variety of notifications in the status bar and have to decide what needs an immediate answer and what can wait. "I know these emails need my attention, but let's see what's popping on social media." You check your social media and no matter what you see, you have just been sidetracked from your day's plan. Your social media is going to lead to more decisions as you usually will be greeted by one of three types of notifications. First, you realize a little spider has come along and entangled you in a web of bullshit that will now set up residence in your mind for the rest of the day. Two, you see that one of your friends or associates is celebrating an accomplishment and now you are doing a self-evaluation on your life. This also has found a residence in the back of your mind for the rest of the day. Three, and the most elusive of the trio, you actually receive some good news! Someone is sending positive vibes in your direction and it is exactly what you needed that day.

So, some of you are like, "What does social media have to do with decisions?" A lot! Let me clarify. I'm not saying it's necessarily the social media that is causing the issues, but more so how an individual receives, processes, digest, and executes their decisions after they interact with their platform of choice.

If you were a person who happened to awaken to bullshit, more than likely you aren't thinking in a rational state. As you drag yourself out of bed 10 minutes later than you planned because you were attempting to do recon on the bullshit situation, by messaging back and forth with your friends, you have now set yourself up for the majority of your decisions for the rest of the day to be decided by one phrase, F*** It! First, You remember that your boss asked you to come in early for a meeting with the company's biggest client and you began to panic until you realize, "There's nothing I can do now! F*** It!" As you speed past that cop you didn't see sitting in the cut, again you panic initially, but then again you realize, "He's got me, F*** It!" As you finally pull into your job's parking lot, a half hour late, with a new speeding ticket you can't afford, you remember that you didn't check your email. You slump in your seat, take a deep sigh and scroll through your email. Everything looks on the up and up until you see an email from your boss from earlier that morning telling you that the meeting location has been changed to an offsite meeting with the location being 5 minutes away from your house. All you can do at that point as you restart your vehicle is chuckle to yourself, throw on your favorite song and recite your favorite phrase of that morning. "F*** It!"

A similar F*** It process starts even if you are fortunate enough to not wake up to bullshit, but instead were awaken with envy from your platform of choice. You see that a best friend has just obtained a fitness goal which leads you to take a long look in the mirror. You realize that you too had a fitness goal but along the way, you stopped going to the gym and loaded up on all those carbs and said F*** It! Another of your associates boast a new promotion or accolade in their career. You realize you were on your way to that big promotion until you were late to that big meeting that your boss handpicked you to lead. However, you said F*** It and decided your social media beef was more important. Let's say you see an engagement announcement and you realize that you want to be engaged one day. Why aren't you engaged? Because you said F*** It! Instead of ending your current relationship you've been in for 5 years that's going nowhere, it was much easier just to stay in the relationship and hope it happens one day.

On the other hand, F*** It doesn't always have to be the result of bad decisions. Sometimes you are just presented with circumstances that just really require you to make a tough decision. So let's say you did make that meeting on time, and you did receive that promotion, and when you awaken and check your notifications, you discover your best friends are congratulating you on your accomplishment. You are riding high as you pull into your job's parking lot and speed into your new reserved parking spot. You float through the hallway, check in with your secretary who tells you that your boss wants to meet with you asap. You grab a cup of coffee and strut into your boss' office. Your boss informs you that with your promotion, you have the option of two different pay packages. They both offer many of the same perks but the compensation portion varies slightly. Option 1 offers a company Mercedes, with a company card for expenses, 20% required business travel with first-class accommodations and all expenses paid within the North American Continent, a company paid condo, and $300k a year in salary. Option 2 offers a personal driver and black car service, 25% required business travel by private jet, with all expenses paid, with worldwide travel destinations, a company paid 6 bedroom home and $350k a year with $200k a year in salary and $150k in company stock options. Now again, you find yourself with a positive but tough decision to make. Do I want all my money liquid as in option 1? Or am I fine with receiving a portion of my salary liquid and betting that those stock options will mature into much more than the $150k worth that I will receive every year? As you bounce the many versions of how these scenarios could possibly play out in your life back and forth in your head, I'm sure that eventually, the tennis match will end with you saying much more profoundly, and much more astute than in your more negative decisions, F*** It! I'm going with Option.......

~MJB~

Brickhouse Drops In om The Kevin Anytime Show to discuss Self Evaluation