I really don’t give a damn

May 25th, 2010 |

imaginative creativity

Fanatics knocking on my door

At the end of any ordinary day, you might look back and think about what happened. I drove to work. I interacted with people all day. Some offended me, others made me laugh. I bumped the desk with my toe, that really hurt. Someone rang with bad news… etc.

So many events and so many emotions. Every day you experience an amazing array of situations – some subtle, some blunt and confronting. You react according to the many different filters within that you define as your personality.

You have prejudices, biases, fears and desires and they are all bubbling below the surface of your consciousness trying to get your attention, like eager school kids wanting to be the first with the correct answer.

Imagine the difference, if you decided to go through the day by not reacting, by not judging and by not caring what happened or what others thought about you. Your day would be very different. You might even find that things actually work out better.

Emotions cause a lot of confusion. Expectations cause a lot of disappointment. Lack of confidence creates many difficulties. Trying to replace them with a more positive attitude is not easy. However… replacing them with ‘I don’t care’ takes very little effort.

My rough research has shown that ‘I really don’t give a damn’ would probably solve 92.33% of the worlds problems. The other 7.67% is inbuilt into this planet so that you don’t get the impression that you are here on a holiday!

‘I really don’t give a damn’ takes the sting out of many situations. It helps you detach yourself from your automatic responses and gives you time and space to gather your thoughts and to consider your reactions.

It’s easy to follow blind emotional reactions but rarely do they make a situation simpler. Stop, apply a good dose of ‘I really don’t give a damn’ and then see what you feel. Another really fun aspect of this attitude is that it annoys people who imagine that life is really serious and that everything they think, say or do is very important.

There are a variety of excellent situations in which it can be applied:

When a fanatic knocks on your door to thrust religious beliefs upon you, liberally apply a dose of ‘I really don’t give a damn’ and watch their frustration. How can they convert someone who just doesn’t care?
When a friendly partner loses her cool (not that you did anything wrong), try acting as if ‘I really don’t give a damn’. It is definitely an excellent form of damage control. All of the ridiculously emotional things you might have said disappear into a veil of vagueness. Leaving you safe after the storm has passed.
If you are in a meeting and the bullies are getting the best of you, relax into your best pose of ‘I really don’t give a damn’. Let it show and watch them give up on you. Everybody knows that nothing is ever resolved at a meeting, so you have nothing to lose.

There are over 15,600 other situations where it can be used effectively. Please feel free to complete this list in your own time but don’t tell me about it because ‘I really don’t give a damn’. In fact because of this particular attitude, I’m not even going to finish this blog.

Posted in the creative life

Creative Links