Pimples and Cysts (#11)

I have had an XM radio subscription in my car since June of 2007. The importance of my satellite radio cannot be overstated. For starters, my CD player in my car no longer works. So my options prior to getting XM were to listen to crappy radio stations or buy an MP3. For the most part, I could do with just the radio stations. That summer, though, was when I would be making my official move to Atlanta, GA. An 18 hour road trip with only unknown radio stations was not an option for me. So I bought an XM radio and got it installed in my car. Let's just say that it was the easiest 18 hour road trip I will ever have to make (I didn't go crazy, which happened almost every time I drove to the Valley from Austin by myself,a 5-hour drive, so thank you XM).

As time progressed I enjoyed my car radio more and more. Soon I started listening to ESPN radio. I was hooked, but more than just that, it helps make my 40-minute commute go by that much faster. Their schedule: Mike and Mike from 6-10, Colin Cowherd from 10-2, Scott Van Pelt from 2-4, and Doug Gottlieb gets the after work hours. I enjoy all the shows, but the one I rarely listen to, is of course Colin Cowherd (right smack during work). One day Colin was talking about how we should treat life's problems. He said that we can essentially group life's problems into two categories: pimples and cysts. He really didn't expand much on that, so let me.

When you have a problem in life, you can choose to act one of two ways: you can act or you can choose not to act. Deciding when to do what is the key to maintaining a clear head and having great relationships with people.

Pimples are annoying. They pop up outta nowhere and when you realize that you have one, all you can do is think about that thing sticking out of your skin. So what do you do? Do you leave it alone, or do you pop it? Well, if you leave a pimple alone, it will eventually go away. But, if you pop that pimple, you are running the risk of scarring your face and you end up just making things worse.

Cysts are annoying as well. The problem with cysts though, is essentially the opposite of a pimple. If you do not act on a cyst, it can become cancerous and will eventually kill you. So it is best to act on the cyst. Face the cyst and remove it.

Exhibit A

Your roommate ate all your Doritos the night before. You specifically wanted to come home to eat your Doritos chips and all of a sudden you have no more. So what do you do? Well, let's think about the situation. Normally your roommate does not eat your food. He usually shares his food with you, and oh yeah remember the time that you drank his last two beers and he didn't say anything?

So do you act or not? Well let's think about what happens if we do. If you say something to him he is going to say something like,"You're really getting at me over some chips." And he might even bring up the time you drank his Shiner Bocks. He will resent you for making a big deal about this. This could lead to an eventual chink in the armor of your relationship.

Let's say we don't act. Assume that this will be the only time that this has happened. And, chances are it will be. And if it does, are you really going to lose sleep over some Doritos? Probably not.

Verdict: Don't act. This is a good example of a pimple. But if you decide to pop it, things may get worse than they were originally. Leave it alone and the problem will work itself out. Your roomy is a cool dude, don't risk potentially ruining a relationship over this. By the time you know it, you won't even be thinking about the pimple on your face; it'll be long gone.

Exhibit B

Your roommate is bringing people over to smoke on weekends. You really don't mind cause it's not like you have to wake up early. Then, all of a sudden, he starts to bring people over to smoke once a week. It's starting to bug you because, well, you need to sleep and it's kinda hard to do that when you got 4 dudes in your living room smokin' trees laughing at old Dave Chapelle episodes. You have a test on Thursday morning and you can hear your roomy calling his boys to come over late. It's Wednesday night.

Ok so let's think about this one. Let's say you don't act. You say nothing, his boys come over and you try your best to catch some ZZZZzzzz's. Of course you can't. You are tired as hell the next morning and you don't do as hot as you could have on your test because you were just too tired. And to make things worse, the fellas keep coming on weeknights, cause, hey no one seems to mind.

Except you do. So instead of staying quiet that night before your test, you confront your roommate. You know full well that he may not like that you are asking him not to bring friends over, but you also need your rest. You decide that if your roommate cannot be considerate enough to respect your requests (and it's a legitimate request) then maybe you shouldn't care about respecting his.

Verdict: Cyst. If you don't cut it off, it's going to grow and will eventually spread to your entire body. Cut if off before it spreads. If you don't say anything, your roomy will assume you don't mind and will continue to have a puff-puff meeting at your place on weeknights. Confront the issue, because if you don't it will persist and eventually take you down.

Ladies and gentlemens we have an example of each case, one pimple and one cyst. And ultimately this comes down to one thing: in life, we have to pick and choose our battles. We cannot fight every fight. If we let everything bother us, we will never find inner peace. We will always be mad about something. Sometimes, you just have to let things slide. But at the same time, you have to confront certain issues and not let people walk all over and take advantage of you. If you don't stand up for yourself one person is going to walk all over you, then two people, then, well you get the idea. Stand up for yourself! Some things must be addressed.

Think about the pros and cons about confronting every issue. And decide if you want to fight or not. Sometimes in life it's easier to just let things be, the universe will work itself out. Other times, you have to realize that if you don't take care of something, it is going to fester and get worse. So next time you are in a bind, take a deep breath and think: pimple or cyst?