I used to obsess about my deficiencies Now I embrace them For example I used to beat myself up over being bad at punctuation Now I never worry about it
For years I hated what I perceived was my inability to have a normal relationship with another person Once I stopped trying to be perfect or even slightly less than middling I became a happier person Soon I developed a deep and meaningful relationship with a man or it might have been woman named Charlie whom I’ve never met in person but who loves me for what I am and the monthly bitcoin deposits I deposit in his or her account
Until recently I thought no one would ever publish my exhaustively researched 1378 page one sentence historical novel about the first known crew of 16th century asexual pirates Then surprise I found a semi workable laser printer in a dumpster and shazam my book is now for sale on Craigslist.
It doesn’t matter how many times you’re fired from jobs What is important is feeling good about yourself after yet another boss catches you turning tricks in the janitor’s closet and tells you to clear out your desk When a soon to be ex supervisor yells Without a doubt you are THE MOST incompetent person who has ever worked for this company it’s just another way of saying you are special
Remember life is not a win lose proposition Yes being competent and wildly successful has its perks but no one’s obituary ever included the words He always forgot to ask Do you want that Supersized
No matter how inept you are the key to a happy life is always feeling good about yourself even if you are really bad at feeling good about yourself And if that’s too hard well feeling meh is nothing to shake a stick at
Ben Alper writes for late night talk show hosts, comedians and others. He is the author of “Thank You for Not Talking: A Laughable Look at Introverts.”
