So, in yesterday's blog post, I asked you all for cookies. Honestly, I didn't expect any. But then my mom commented, and she issued the challenge. Write 1k of Kaz or cut 2k of Sarawen, and I would get cookies.
Guess what?
I did it.
So now Mom owes me cookies. She might have time to make them today, or she might not. I don't really care. The point is, I cut 2k words. I did it because I had the challenge.
Not that I actually need them. The secret is in the competition. She said she'd give me cookies if I cut 2k words. If she hadn't, would I have done it? Probably not. I would have done something, but it would have been less important to me.
So here's my theory: Cookies=competition. No, seriously. Think about it.
Cookies: Taste good.
Competition: Feels good.
Cookies: Make you do drastic things.
Competition: Makes you do drastic things.
Cookies: Are better with eggs.
Competition: Have you ever tried competing with eggs? It's exciting!
Cookies: Can wreck your health.
Competition: Can wreck your life.
Conclusion: Cookies are good. So is competition. Sometimes. But! We need to be cautious about them. I'm a cookie-lover. I'm also very competitive. I think both of these things add color to my life. But I need to be cautious about them. If I get too wrapped up in competition, if beating others becomes the focus of my life, everything important suffers. I lose friends. I lose the joy that comes from setting a goal and meeting it, from striving to better myself. It ruins my life. And I'm not even going to get into what happens when I eat too many cookies.
Does this mean I should avoid competition altogether? No. I proved yesterday that it's a valuable tool. It motivates me. So do cookies. But I should make sure that the focus stays on doing my personal best, not on beating everyone else. And cookies should always be eaten after lunch.
Next post: I prove that procrastination=pie. (Ooh. Pie.)
I still think that I should make you cookies.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. I'm not questioning that. Cookies are good, as long as you're not thinking just about yourself. SHARE THE SUGAR!!!
ReplyDeleteWas that serious? Hold it, how much sugar? I offered to delete all those pages for you!
ReplyDelete1. You didn't actually need the promise of cookies to get you to cut 2K. It was the challenge that did it, not the cookies.
ReplyDelete2. Had you not cut the 2K, you would have done something else with your time which would have been less important to you.
3. Too many cookies are bad for you.
4. Your sisters have just returned from girls camp with 3/4 of an ice-cream bucket full of homemade cookies.
5. And your littlest sister used this blog as an excuse to make cookies for you, at least that was her explanation when she asked my permission. Never mind that you weren't aware of the matter. Never mind that she got creative and maybe threw in some ground mint leaves from the garden. They're cookies. Made for you. Sitting on the kitchen counter. Because of my promise.
Therefore, I suggest that my promise to make you cookies has served its purpose and has been abundantly fulfilled.
Wouldn't you agree?
May I also add that those cookies your sisters brought home from girls camp are cookies I made. For you. And them. Yes, it was before I made the promise. But time is a fluid thing.
ReplyDelete