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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
Goodbye, Nose. Ha ha, Face!
All right, fine. I'll explain the title We
have a lot of interesting phrases in Kentucky. I don't know if this is a
universal one or not (I thought that the saying about daylight savings time
"Spring Forward; Fall Back" was universal until my boss looked at me as if I
were a genius the other day), but here it is "Cut off your nose to spite your
face."
It's when you're so stubborn that you'll do something that's not in your best interest in the long run, simply to prove a point or win an argument. For example, getting angry and storming out of the meeting with the loan officer at the bank when she keeps asking you why you missed three payments. Likely result: your loan will get cancelled. However, your pride and stubbornness keep you from focussing on that, and instead you simply need to prove a point. In this case: nobody talks to you like that.
Do I do that kind of thing? Oh, absolutely. Not daily, of course, but more often than many. It seems to me to be a very heathen trait. Maybe I'm mistaken on that.
Today, I went to the gym. I was doing my back and biceps workout, minding my own business.... plugged into my iPod, not making eye contact with anyone... how many more ways can one use body language to say "Don't speak to me?" I'm not in a good mood, and I admit that. I'm bummed because I got some bad news this morning. I'm taking out my frustration in a constructive manner.
So I've done assisted pull ups, and I've moved on over to the cable row machine. I've decided to do pyramid sets -- where you use a higher weight in each set, but do less reps. They're great for today because they wear you out. I do three sets -- 120 X8, 135 X6, and 150 X4 (120 is usually my highest weight for normal sets, and 150 is pushing the borders of the possible). On the third set, I have to cheat to complete the movement. Now, this isn't a bad thing; it just means that I'm leaning backwards slightly to get a full range of motion, because I've exhausted the muscle group that I'm targeting. "Cheating" in this case means using other muscles to assist to get through that last set.
So I finished the 4 reps and start to stand up. There's someone standing there, and I assume he wants to use the machine. Boy was I wrong. His one mission in life appears to be to show off his erudition by explaining to you what you just did wrong. He had obviously only seen my last set, as he was explaining to me that to properly do the exercise I have to keep my pecs against the pad and not lean back and blah blah blah.
Now granted, I didn't do a good job of explaining myself. I should have said "I was doing pyramid sets. You saw the last set in which I did cheat slightly to finish the set." I didn't, but then, I shouldn't have to. Why the Hel was someone watching me anyway? So I simply said I was secondarily targeting my lower back. Then I got a secondary lecture on how the machine wasn't built for that. I started to walk away from this freakazoid, and he followed me, saying "I don't mean to be rude..."
Well, good. I'm glad he didn't mean to. I did a couple more exercises, and was just getting more and more pissed, so I left.
So yeah, because I couldn't stand to deal with someone telling me how to work out (and watching me work out), I didn't work out, which may have not been the best thing for me. However, there just seemed to be no right thing to do.
I once quit a job because I was offered the supervisor's position. I thought the old supervisor got screwed, so when our boss called me in to offer it to me, I told him I could no longer work there. It was a nice little raise, I suppose, and there were other reasons involved, but yeah, I cut off my nose to spite my face. I was proud of it then, and I'm proud of it now. It's just the way I am. Boss told me "Someday you're going to grow up and decisions aren't going to be that easy." 8 years later, I still hope he's wrong.
It has its good side, too. Way back when I was working on my undergrad degree, I decided to apply for graduate school in archaeology. I went to my main archaeology professor and asked for a recommendation. He is a very honest person, you understand, and we're still very good friends. He told me "I will be glad to write a letter of recommendation for you. However, I will also have to tell them that you are lazy, unmotivated, and generally don't get things done." Well, I thanked him and left.
I ended up going to grad school at the same college where I got my undergrad, and didn't directly study archaeology. I did, however, take an incredible number of electives in it. Mainly directed studies, and always under that professor. I busted my ass to prove him wrong. What else could I do? Finally, my last semester, I turned in my project, and heard "I am completely satisfied with this." Yep, it made it all worth it.
Understand, I wasn't just seeking his approval. I NEEDED to know that the impression I had given him could be changed. It wasn't easy, but I did it.
So yeah, stubbornness cuts both ways. However, no regrets here. I'm proud of all I've done. My pride and my stubbornness are two parts of my personality. Others can deal with them as they wish.
It's when you're so stubborn that you'll do something that's not in your best interest in the long run, simply to prove a point or win an argument. For example, getting angry and storming out of the meeting with the loan officer at the bank when she keeps asking you why you missed three payments. Likely result: your loan will get cancelled. However, your pride and stubbornness keep you from focussing on that, and instead you simply need to prove a point. In this case: nobody talks to you like that.
Do I do that kind of thing? Oh, absolutely. Not daily, of course, but more often than many. It seems to me to be a very heathen trait. Maybe I'm mistaken on that.
Today, I went to the gym. I was doing my back and biceps workout, minding my own business.... plugged into my iPod, not making eye contact with anyone... how many more ways can one use body language to say "Don't speak to me?" I'm not in a good mood, and I admit that. I'm bummed because I got some bad news this morning. I'm taking out my frustration in a constructive manner.
So I've done assisted pull ups, and I've moved on over to the cable row machine. I've decided to do pyramid sets -- where you use a higher weight in each set, but do less reps. They're great for today because they wear you out. I do three sets -- 120 X8, 135 X6, and 150 X4 (120 is usually my highest weight for normal sets, and 150 is pushing the borders of the possible). On the third set, I have to cheat to complete the movement. Now, this isn't a bad thing; it just means that I'm leaning backwards slightly to get a full range of motion, because I've exhausted the muscle group that I'm targeting. "Cheating" in this case means using other muscles to assist to get through that last set.
So I finished the 4 reps and start to stand up. There's someone standing there, and I assume he wants to use the machine. Boy was I wrong. His one mission in life appears to be to show off his erudition by explaining to you what you just did wrong. He had obviously only seen my last set, as he was explaining to me that to properly do the exercise I have to keep my pecs against the pad and not lean back and blah blah blah.
Now granted, I didn't do a good job of explaining myself. I should have said "I was doing pyramid sets. You saw the last set in which I did cheat slightly to finish the set." I didn't, but then, I shouldn't have to. Why the Hel was someone watching me anyway? So I simply said I was secondarily targeting my lower back. Then I got a secondary lecture on how the machine wasn't built for that. I started to walk away from this freakazoid, and he followed me, saying "I don't mean to be rude..."
Well, good. I'm glad he didn't mean to. I did a couple more exercises, and was just getting more and more pissed, so I left.
So yeah, because I couldn't stand to deal with someone telling me how to work out (and watching me work out), I didn't work out, which may have not been the best thing for me. However, there just seemed to be no right thing to do.
I once quit a job because I was offered the supervisor's position. I thought the old supervisor got screwed, so when our boss called me in to offer it to me, I told him I could no longer work there. It was a nice little raise, I suppose, and there were other reasons involved, but yeah, I cut off my nose to spite my face. I was proud of it then, and I'm proud of it now. It's just the way I am. Boss told me "Someday you're going to grow up and decisions aren't going to be that easy." 8 years later, I still hope he's wrong.
It has its good side, too. Way back when I was working on my undergrad degree, I decided to apply for graduate school in archaeology. I went to my main archaeology professor and asked for a recommendation. He is a very honest person, you understand, and we're still very good friends. He told me "I will be glad to write a letter of recommendation for you. However, I will also have to tell them that you are lazy, unmotivated, and generally don't get things done." Well, I thanked him and left.
I ended up going to grad school at the same college where I got my undergrad, and didn't directly study archaeology. I did, however, take an incredible number of electives in it. Mainly directed studies, and always under that professor. I busted my ass to prove him wrong. What else could I do? Finally, my last semester, I turned in my project, and heard "I am completely satisfied with this." Yep, it made it all worth it.
Understand, I wasn't just seeking his approval. I NEEDED to know that the impression I had given him could be changed. It wasn't easy, but I did it.
So yeah, stubbornness cuts both ways. However, no regrets here. I'm proud of all I've done. My pride and my stubbornness are two parts of my personality. Others can deal with them as they wish.
Posted: Wed - March 31, 2004 at 04:48 PM