It's been my general practice to not be a hypocrite. I generally succeed. Sometimes, I fail.
In Oct 2011, my stance on comics hypocrisy was pointed out to me. After some reflection, I recognized it, but it helped me realign my actions with my truest feelings, and step away comics for a bit.
A few months back, more potential hypocrisy was pointed out to me regarding people from my past. After some reflection, I decided no, the observation was not accurate...but that another observation—that was I was guilty about comparing myself to others (specific others) with negative effects—was spot on. It helped flush it out of my system.
So, after reading 2 pretty good articles about resolutions and being a better person* I decided to eliminate my final known spot of hypocrisy: using the stairs.
I use the stairs at work unless inappropriate (i.e., I need to talk to my boss on the way to a meeting). At home, I always take them down when solo, and the elevator with the dog. But, using the elevator to take the dog up 5 flights lulled me into taking the elevator more often then not solo. Which continued even after the dog became dead.
And yet, I've always mildly criticized those who wish they could lose weight but don't take the stairs when they are able (e.g., their knees are fine). Hence, I vowed to take the stairs as much as possible moving forward. So far so good.
* the first article was basically "stop being so vapid" with tips like "don't check your phone during dinner with friends" and "don't take a gay cruise, get your fag friends to go camping." I agree with the sentiments of most, though I'm not exactly guilty of the flaws. I've lived by "improve your home" for years now, and certainly agree with it. And, a few months back I started living "don't compare yourself to others." The other, from Cracked.com was 6 harsh things you need to know to be a better person. Along the lines of "who you are on the inside doesn't mean anything, it's what you do and how you live your life. But, what you do and how you live spring directly from who you are on the inside, so it does matter in that way." Read it. It was great. I've learned new things and done things and have been value-added to others for many years now. And, even in my year from comics and drawing, I learned to refinish furniture and learned to use the table saw, router, chop saw, etc., while I was designing and building furniture. The Cracked article was stronger for me than the other thing, but both were good to put me as a person into perspective.
Yay, new years!
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