Admission: Failure -- The Negligence Problem
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the second series of the Jear-Bear letters. For the new readers, this is my weekly newsletter. I used to write short essays of things that interested me with an intention I could read this a year later and remain interested.
During months of February and March, I will be writing letters on the theme of "repeated failure". Expect releases on Monday, unless I get too busy and release a Tuesday letter. Today, for instance.
I few of you reached out to me and told me you missed my writing. I missed you all too. Let's make this second series as great as possible.
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Reply to the email with ideas, thoughts, your own stories. If love to hear any feedback.
Enough of that. Let's get to the letter!
Touched by you all,
Jeremy
The Negligence Problem
My glasses were falling apart. I owned them for 4 years and couldn’t persuade myself to get a new pair. To obtain a new pair, I'd need a new prescription. And being sensitive about my eyesight and didn't want to face the prospect of the optometrist diagnosing me a stronger prescription.
So I did the insensible. I neglected to replace the pair of glasses. And I had no excuse. I had health insurance. There was a hurdle in my mind I couldn't jump over.
The hurdle started with facing the news I will have a stronger prescription. Which leads to being deemed legally blind because my eyesight had deteriorated. Which triggered my fear of being blind.
At that point, I'd think about something else. When the topic came up again, I'd repeat this cycle of worry, hesitation, and negligence.
I broke down when bad became worse. On of the nostril pads came off, so I needed a replacement. I came to my senses and figured out the first actionable step.
Breaking the Cycle
I went online to determine how to schedule an appointment with an optometrist. My hospital website had had online booking. Bingo.
I went in for the appointment and to my surprise, my eyes were the same as they were 4 years ago. By letting myself slip, I failed to see the absurdity of my own bias. All the moments of worry were for nothing. All the times I wondered what if, wasted.
An Introduction
We all make mistakes. We all fail to do, or sometimes not do, the important things in life. I want to raise the bar and stop this repetition.
The negligence problem is one of my failures. It's one of many failures. Each week I'll break down a different repeated mistake. My aim is to generalize failures common to everyone, although my intent is to write it for my future self if I were to relapse. If this model helps other people, that's an added benefit.
Bookmark this for later. Re-read often. We're going to have a fun two months exposing my weaknesses.
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