If you want to avoid a rush of indignity, don’t look at your old iTunes library. Chances are, if you’re anything like me, you have ghosts from playlists past. With skeletons like Aaron Carter, Bowling for Soup and a host of turn-of-the-millennium pop rock, rediscovering my former musical tastes makes me wonder if I am in fact the same person as before.
My most recent foray into old playlists, though, did yield interesting results. In the midst of clearing out some classic Nickelback, I came across a reggae pop song primed for playlist-removal. While the song’s content left much to be desired, the song’s title, “The Science of Selling Yourself Short,” caught my eye. It seemed to compact into one catchy tagline a sentiment I’d been harboring for some time now: finding the balance between perfection and a lack thereof.
“What’s going to happen when
you actually do ‘get big?’”
Our bodybuilder found himself
at a loss for words.
The search for this magical balance becomes most evident in the time during and after midterms. Steeped in stress, the week or so of examinations warrants panic, inordinate hours of studying and a drive to perform as best as one can — not to mention the subsequent anxiety-filled waiting period before receiving one’s grade.
The supposed trade-off? While misery may envelop your life for a week or two, the high grades resulting from maniacal relaxation-deprivation surely bring happiness afterwards. I don’t mean to deny such allegations, but I do believe in a better way to go about these high-stress weeks and, on a larger scale, one’s educational career. There does indeed exist a science of selling yourself short.
After a while in the search for perfection, the inevitable question arises: what happens when you achieve such perfection? Recently, in an effort to “get yoked,” a certain friend of mine explained his plans to begin consuming a protein-supplement, bragging about how “big” he would soon become. Pointedly, another friend in the conversation asked, “What’s going to happen when you actually do ‘get big?’” Our bodybuilder found himself at a loss for words.
We often can find ourselves in the same sort of endless search. Set on achieving some abstract goal, we focus too intently on the ends of a process rather than the more important means. With a vision of glamor at the end of whichever process it may be — studying, dieting or even socializing — it becomes easy to forget if we enjoy the process or if it’s even worth it in the end.
Now, I am by no means condoning a culture of vegetative illiterates, devoid of dedication and drive. We all should strive for perfection, study to earn validating grades and put in some effort to maintain our physical health. But the problem begins when the negatives of our runaway drive eclipse the positives inherent within, causing us to lose sight of the real goal.
Rather than letting the studying consume you, you should use it as a way to make yourself better. At a certain point in a seven-hour library bender, it may be time to find the science of selling yourself short. Sure, an additional 20 minutes on supply and demand could better prepare you for the exam, but taking a little break, enjoying one of those fruity, unhealthy drinks you’ve always been hesitant to purchase and remembering what it’s like to not be hard-wired to perfection certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Oftentimes, the goal of midterms or even finals appears to be studying as much as humanly possible. Hit the books for as many hours as possible and you’re good to go. But that’s not it. The goal is to do well on the exams. Some things which help you do well are sleeping, eating and avoiding insanity — not having a reckless drive to push yourself beyond your limits.
Over the past few weeks, I too have been drowning in an ocean of work. I’ve attempted to master Spanish, history and politics all in an attempt to walk away with the best experience possible. But the number one discipline I hope to master is the science of selling myself short.
Aidan’s column runs biweekly Fridays. He can be reached at a.cochrane@cavalierdaily.com.
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