DC Pierson: Something That's Been Working For Me Recently

dcpierson:

Something in the future (a show or an audition or a meeting or a dreaded cup of coffee or scary doctor’s appointment) is causing me some amount of anxiety.

I think: THIS THING (whatever it is) IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

AND THEN IT WILL BE OVER.

I try not to focus on the outcome of the thing. The…

This is from DC Pierson who you may have seen pop up on various TV shows in extra roles or this Allstate commercial. And if you’re a fan of Derrick Comedy videos (why wouldn’t you be?), you’ll definitely know of him. You’ll also recognize another Derrick Comedy member, but you may know him better under a different name.

Anyways, I have approached things in this manner since high school. Fortunately I have never had a real problem with test anxiety and this is probably a big reason why. As he points out, it’s relaxing because of its inevitability. It’s going to happen so there’s no use in stressing about it. Once you realize that, you can prepare as best as you can.

This is closely related to a phrase which I’ve come to absolutely despise recently: “It is what it is.” Granted, this phrase does have some practical use. Mostly during things that are truly inevitable. It’s a quick way to accept things and move on, which is helpful. The reason why it’s become almost toxic to me is how it’s used at work. This is the go-to excuse for everyone, even though these things are fully controllable. We can figure out why things go missing, or why numbers are down. So when “it is what it is” really isn’t, that’s when I have a problem.

Undoubtedly I have used the phrase in this manner before. It’ll need a constant effort to control because it is easy to just say “it is what it is” and walk away. This is normally my attitude to larger social issues that seem bigger than me. I don’t feel I’m in any position to help in any significant way and I’ll move on and distract myself in other ways. Which is an awful way to look at things and tiny efforts here and there are sometimes what sparks momentum that leads to bigger change. I’m really just lazy and I’ll work on that.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everyone.

—Tim