Recently my dear mother kept an article from the Wall Street Journal (one of the few newspapers left that hasn't devolved into "rag" status or merely a propaganda forum) for me to read. It was about how many or most of us have an inner critic, who often can be more harsh than any outside voice. I've been telling people for a decade that I'm a perfectionist with an over-active and extremely Hitler-esque inner critic. Often this Inner Hitler had been an obstacle in nearly everything I attempt. Particularly (since about middle school) in my writing.
So, although the article was nothing new to me, it was nice to see the positives and negatives of self-criticism being acknowledged. The article also contained a brief quiz meant to assess one's level of self-criticism and perfectionism. 15 statements with a certain number of points allotted for the level of agreement with each statement.
Okay, fine. Since I can almost read your thoughts right now, I'll go ahead and give you what you want and type out the whole stupid quiz so you can take it yourself. (but if I get sued for copyright infringement, I blame you all)
For each statement, indicate the number that best describes how you feel most of the time.
1 - Totally disagree; 2 - Disagree very much; 3 - Disagree slightly; 4 - neutral; 5 - Agree slightly; 6 - Agree very much; 7 - Totally agree
1. It is difficult to be happy unless one is good-looking, intelligent, rich and creative.
2. People will probably think less of me if I make a mistake.
3. If I do not do well all the time, people will not respect me.
4. If a person asks for help, it is a sign of weakness.
5. If I do not do as well as other people, it means I am a weak person.
6. If I fail at my work, then I am a failure as a person.
7. If you cannot do something well, there is little point in doing it at all.
8. If someone disagrees with me, it probably indicates he does not like me.
9. If I fail partly, it is as bad as being a complete failure.
10. If other people know what you are really like, they will think less of you.
11. If I don't set the highest standards for myself, I am likely to end up a second-rate person.
12. If I am to be a worthwhile person, I must be the best in at least one way.
13. People who have good ideas are better than those who do not.
14. I should be upset if I make a mistake.
15. If I ask a question, it makes me look stupid.
I went through the quiz and came to a score of 59. (and that was being conservative) 54 or higher indicates a high level of self-criticism and perfectionism. 39 is average and 24 or less indicates a low level of self-criticism and perfectionism.
So how did everyone do? I'd love to hear some of your scores. C'mon...I shared mine...
Okay...onto my other topic of the day: Meagan Fox. She does nothing for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah - technically she's gorgeous, but her portrayed image just comes across as so vapid, shallow, and lacking personality that her physical beauty is completely negated. When I hear a fellow man gasping through barely restrained wanton desire the many perceived wonders of Ms. Fox, I know that man does not place much value on intelligence, personality, charm, poise, and other non-mammalian traits of attraction. Give me Kate Beckinsale any day over Fox. Beckinsale's (or at least her portrayed image) the kind of woman who can kill the undead in skintight black leather, go frolicking on the beach with you, laugh at your stupid jokes, move you to write songs and lay waste to countless villages, and still tuck the kids in at night while saving energy for quality time with her man. Hmm....wouldn't it be ironic if in reality both Fox and Beckinsale were nothing like their images -- or even reversed? (and when I talk about portrayed images, I don't exactly mean the roles they play in movies, but rather how they come across as real people) Regardless, I'm sticking with Becks.
Oh, and let's not forget Fox's little comments about how she wishes Megatron (the villain from the Transformers movies) would blow up middle America with all it's Bible-thumping rednecks. I don't have her exact quote handy, but if you replace all the descriptors she used pertaining to many average Christians in this country with words that describe terrorists or a random minority group, her statement would have been heralded as racist, immoral, unconscionable, and stupid. But thanks to our cultures wacky double-standards, it's still totally cool to say bad things about Christians and "middle America." After all, they just "cling to their guns and religion".....wait a minute, Fox didn't say that part....who was that again? Oh yeah...
A few more random comments before I go:
1. I've found recently that it is actually EASIER for me to run the hotter and muggier it is outside. I've always been unable to run in cold weather - harder to breath, the throat burns, nose runs, muscles ache and feel lifeless. Perhaps the warmer, more humid air helps keep my body loose. This could help particularly with my chronic sciatica problems. Whatever it is, this recent heat wave of 90 degree temperatures has me bursting with energy each time I go for a run.
2. Salmon could be the perfect food. There's nothing bad in it and each fillet (at least the one's in the freezer) has about 40 grams of protein! For someone as health conscious and mildly-addicted to working out as me, that's a gold mine! Last night I made an amazing salmon salad -- and normally I don't care for meat mixed with vegetables in salad-form. It was so good I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning -- and I just might make it again tonight!
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Fox vs Beckinsale: I couldn't agree more. Fox is hot to be sure but I
ReplyDeletewould say that her image isn't just an image. She's intellectually
lazy and has said some really stupid shit including her dummass answer
to the Megatron question. Granted it was a stupid question and a vapid
attempt at humor. Check this doozy of a quote.
"I don't want to have to be like a Scarlett Johansson — who I have nothing against," she said. "But I don't want to have to go on talk shows and pull out every single SAT word I've ever learned to prove, like, 'Take me seriously, I am intelligent, I can speak.'"
She continued: "I don't want to have to do that. I resent having to prove that I'm not a retard — but I do. And part of it is my own fault."
As for double standards around the response I don't think she's
getting away with much. I just don't think many people were actually
listening. But I don't agree at all that it's considered totally cool
to slander Christians. A very strong argument can be made that the scenario you describe of replacing the term Christian with some racial minority would result in more outrage happens quite often only it's not Christians they're talking about. They're often talking about atheists or non-christians and the argument is made by that crowd that swapping 'atheist' for 'Jew' or 'Black' would elicit greater outrage from the public. But those stories rarely make headlines because unfortunately bigotry is everywhere and when it's someone like Megan Fox or some unknown preacher or state level politician, few people take notice except those who are slighted.
As for Salmon...it's awesome and salmon salad is incredible when done properly. The only things to try to avoid with salmon is farm raised. Wild is almost always better for sustainability and to avoid high levels of parasites and PCBs found in farm raised salmon.
Well "wild salmon" around here typically comes from China and, from my own experience, is just NASTY and unfit for human consumption. I have vowed not to consciously eat any foodstuff raised or prepared in China. (That does not include "Chinese food")
ReplyDeleteI've been quite happy with the store-bought salmon from Chile and Argentina, which I think are usually farm-raised. Still light years better than that nasty, despicable, Gollum-esque Chinese salmon.....
Now Pacific Northwest wild salmon...oh man...my mouth is watering just thinking about it....
I don't much about the Chinese or Argentinian salmon but yeah the Washington wild is really good. Or if you can get your hands on Alaskan wild salmon. That's some tasty stuff.
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