The Confidence Guy

Wired into Truly Confident Living

Mar 29

Why Should You Give a Damn?

Making decisions

Give a damn: Banned Books Week 2008Why the hell should you give a damn?

Really.  Why should you?

It struck me recently that if there’s nothing at stake or if nothing’s at risk in life then you’re living in a curious equilibrium.

The gravity of where you are negates the pull of where you want to be going, resulting in stasis.  You don’t move.  Things continue as they are.  Nothing much changes.

On the surface that might not seem like a big deal, especially if you believe yourself to be perfectly happy where you are.  But, as Jonathan Fields pointed out – “There is no coasting.  There is no neutral.  No sideways.”

Just ask the next space-dwelling-dude you see and he’ll tell you that living in zero-gravity will, over time, result in muscle atrophy.  The same goes for you and your life.

Live long enough in a state of equilibrium or stasis and the muscles that support your ability to live a rich, meaningful life will atrophy.  I’m talking about your confidence muscle.

The only way to stop that atrophy – that long, slow death – is to make something in your life worth giving a damn about.  You gotta care about something so much that it makes you stand up and move.  You gotta be engaged enough to raise the stakes and put something on the line.

If nothing’s at stake, just what the hell are you doing?

Tell me, what’s at stake for you?  Or maybe you’re in that place of curious equilibrium?  Let me know in the comments.

Share this article:
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • FriendFeed
  • Add to favorites
5 Comments »
  • http://fitforreallife.com/ Kate

    Hello Confidence Guy! I stumbled on your blog somehow awhile back, and check in from time to time w/ your writing – and I must say, this post and the one about quitting were perfectly timed for me! Seeing as, the thing that makes me “stand up” as you say, is exactly what you wrote about in the quitting post! My significant other & I just quit our jobs to start a biz together…and we absolutely know we can be successful, but we must remember to we’ve got to push ourselves out of ‘stasis’ so that we can achieve what we truly want in this world! Crazy, slighty scary, but totally worth waking up for each day!! -Kate

  • http://theconfidenceguyonline.com Steve Errey – Confidence Guy

    Awesome :)

    So great that you’re taking a chance and taking a firm step towards what matters to you. I love that you’re doing this with your partner too – that’s so cool. Will you let me know how you guys get on?

    PS: Call me Steve ;)

  • http://fitforreallife.com/ Kate

    Steve! :) Thanks! Will certainly let you know how it all starts forming together! And you keep writing smart confident guy stuff…we love that sort of stuff, and I’m sure many others do too!

  • http://www.thedatingspecialist.com Nick

    Well said! Life is all about being passionate and going after what you want. Otherwise, what’s the point of living? There’s a Mark Twain quote that perfectly sums it up:

    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

    I love that quote :)

  • http://theconfidenceguyonline.com Steve Errey – Confidence Guy

    Awesome quote. A clever man that Mark Twain.