I made the last post so I can tell you this. I just crossed a finish line. Forgive the mystery but I’m a fan of privacy. You’ll have to make do without specifics.
Actually, it was less a finish line than another step on a long road. (It’s never the last finish line until you’re dead.) This one turned out to be a tough one for me. Maybe it would be an easy step for some other man. That’s irrelevant. It just plain kicked my ass and that’s what matters to me! I needed to pause once I got to the far side of it. What you’re reading right now is part of that pause.
So, what’s my point? If I wore myself out for internal purposes and not for public consumption (hence the vagueness of this post) why am I writing? Because other men are doing similar things. I voluntarily pushed myself right to the ragged end. I’m not alone. Somewhere someone is doing something impressive right now. I hope they do well.
Men don’t get a lot of positive feedback. Let me rephrase that… men don’t get any positive feedback. Men are used to this and try to achieve without so much as a smile. It doesn’t have to be that way. Any bit helps. So here it is. For all the men out there; if you’ve levered your ass off the couch and are endeavoring to do whatever… the Curmudgeon is rooting for ya.
Good luck.
There’s one more post coming. In which I try discussing a moment which sucked without whining.
Update: Commenter JK pointed out that what I’ve written sounds dismissive of women. That wasn’t my intention but she’s got a point. I sorta’ thought of “relentless inner drive to improve or die trying” as a default masculine thing (it’s almost a cliche) but when you get down to it, it’s a human thing. At least for some humans. I’m all for a kind word to anyone who’s climbing their personal self selected mountain… especially if it’s a hard struggle and in particular if it’s undertaken solo and for the right internal reasons. I’m going to leave the text as I wrote it because I’m too lazy for a major edit but for the record I’m all for every damn human who’s earnestly endeavoring to push them selves to new heights. For everyone, man or woman, who’s trying to “level up”…I’m rooting for ya.
You are exactly right. We need to quit trying to knock each other down as we race to meet our own goals. Knocking someone else down typically doesn’t help you, and makes the final reward that much less rewarding knowing how you achieved it. I’ve found much more pleasure in supporting others achieve their goals than a lot of life’s other little pleasures.
So, cheers to you Mr. Curmudgeon. For getting your ass kicked and still having the fortitude to cross that finish line. And when it’s time for you to move that line and start again, I’ll be rooting for you.
Cheers,
To you and every man that decided to do what seemed beyond their knowledge, ability, or resources, and forced the finished product through stubborness, persistence and dumb luck….You Rock!! Don’t care if ya just built the space shuttle or rebuilt the mower carb. Its what makes men, men….the drive from within. And ta you curmugeon an atta boy, and a back slap that makes ya take a step forward to recover.
Y’know, I needed this. I had a day off today, and got my sprinklers for the lawn installed, and I’ve a body of work waiting at my job (sporting goods at a farm store, so I sell guns and try to keep the backpacks and fishing rods well stocked) that nobody else seems to give a shit about.
So, I’ll take it. If the Curmudgeon is rooting for me, I’m going back to work tomorrow to do my damnedest to make sure if he showed up at the store looking for 3 boxes of .45ACP and a number 12 wiggledigibbet lure, he’ll find them on the shelf.
Thanks, AC.
Pingback: Thoughts On Finish Lines | Adaptive Curmudgeon