There are a few types of people in the world: the headstrong, doing things because they know they can, not thinking about the consequences, the careful people who take every little detail into account, and the balanced, going from headstrong to careful every ten minutes. I, unfortunately, am careful. I keep the risks low, and I never do things in a brash manner. Life is a game - and I must win. If I don’t, then everything I did was wasted - inefficient, better spent doing something successful.
To lower such risks, I will do anything. I need to be efficient, no kinks at all. An example of this was when I was on a trip to the Caribbean. I was doing a race - go through the streets of Cozumel, Mexico and collect items and clues. As soon as the race started, I scrambled for the first clue and sprinted off towards the next area. “Faster!”, “Come on!”, “We already checked there!”, and “What do you mean, ‘I’m tired?’”
were some of the “helpful” coaching I did. Competitive? Yes. Annoying? Yes. But necessary? No. Giving others a chance by waiting for mundane things like “traffic” do not win medals (although it does help you stay uninjured). Sure it worked, first place. But there will always be a way to improve, nothing is ever enough. Not really the best for self-confidence when everything even slightly off is considered a fatal flaw, blown out of proportions.
Another example of my careful qualities was also shown on that same trip. I was in the line for a water slide when I noticed several things. One was a girl. Brunette, around-ish of my age, wearing green and white stripes. While this can quickly turn into an, “Oh great, the protagonist chases after a girl for 10 minutes who has no interest in him a-la-Johnny Bravo” story, it won’t for two reasons. One, she kept looking at me. Her eyes focused on me, not the slide. One does not simply look up at a person several times on accident. Two, I didn’t do anything. I could’ve said something funny or looked macho. But I wasn’t sure that this was genuine attraction - if it wasn’t I’d make things uncomfortable at best, and get slapped at worst. My hesitation and thinking, wondering about the possible consequences made sure that nothing would be done - as it has countless times on the past and since then. Life’s short - if you blink you may miss it.
So what type are you? Do you think it’s better to be one way or another? I am the careful type, and I believe it has flaws - you can never be sure enough of anything to not have to be super competitive and you’ll think about opportunities while they fly right past your head. I’ll try to be more headstrong, grabbing opportunities when they come. Because like life, ink will be spread across the paper, carefully crafting a story, unless someone - namely you - make it.