Every Now and Then

There is this stat that people keep track of within the NBA called the “plus-minus” stat. Essentially, the stat keeps track of an individual player’s value to the team. It ranges from +500 to -500 (I think, sports people can fact check me there, this is just going off of a very limited google search and prior knowledge). Being rated as +5 means that, while you are on the court, your team does significantly better. It determines your influence on the team, in a sense. To quote ESPN, since I only pretend to know sports and do not really know them that well, the plus-minus stat is defined as something that “registers the net change in score (plus or minus) while each player is on the court.” So, like, people like Russell Westbrook probably have really good plus-minus stats since he is a good facilitator and a great scorer, thus ensuring that his team scores more while he is on the court. Okay, I looked it up, and he is actually rated 16^th in the league, at +277. Number one is Klay Thompson at +393. The first Cavs player on the ranking is Kyle Korver (probably mainly because he is the most beautiful shooter ever holy cow I could literally just watch film of him shooting and be content), ranked 31 with +210. LeBron is not even in the top fifty of the league.

Alright, alright, you are on to me. There is, indeed, a bigger point to this. I do love the NBA and such, but this post is not about the wonderful sport of basketball. This post, per my usual self, is about, you guessed it, a life lesson! Provided by yours truly.

It is important to keep track of the stats of people around you and in your life. Now, note that I said stats, not score. You should never keep score. I know that is extremely hard; it is really easy to count up all of the bad things people have done and hold it against them. But, life is too short to be petty about one or two things someone amazing and whom you love did wrong. Let it go, bro. Being late to plans does not make them a bad person. Changing their mind about waking up for breakfast (sorry to my friends, but honestly, you should know by now that I will not wake up before ten, no matter how much I love you. My body is physically incapable) does not make them a piece of shit. It makes them human. I think people in my life often think that I kinda let myself get emotionally tread on. Maybe I do, but I prefer to call it giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway! Keeping stats. What on Earth do I mean by this? I mean that, every now and then, you need to check in with yourself and see how you are doing. Are you feeling good? Bad? Homeostasis? ¿Así Así? And then, after assessing your internal programming system, you need to confront the cause of such emotions. Circumstances, body functions (or lack thereof, sleep deprivation can really mess you up), people, etc.

Every now and then, I think it is important to assess the pluses and minuses in your life. My emphasis is on people, but I think this goes for all things in your life. Is staying up late to play euchre ruining your sleep pattern? If yes, it is a minus and you need to subtract it from your life. Personally, euchre has been a massive plus in my life, so I thus increase its presence in my life. But, as I said, my primary focus is on people.

Does that person make you feel bad? When they are on the court, do you score more or less? If you are scoring less, cut them out. CLIPPED. Every now and then, your life needs to be edited. In fact, as a future editor, I would recommend daily editing. Life is so short. Do you realize this? Life is so incredibly, terrifyingly, horribly short. And you never know when its briefness is going to cease existing. So, you have to fill in the briefness with as much good things as possible. Everyone says they want to “go out on a good note.” Or, back to basketball, “end on a make.” Well… we never know when we are going out or ending, so it is important to make sure that every note is struck with perfection and every shot goes in. Why are you wasting your time with negative people? Why do you hang around someone who minuses your life? Do yourself a favor and subtract them.

Recently, my mother told me that not everything in life is “carpe diem.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it means “seize the day.” Carpe Diem is usually used by drunken people encouraging one another to do stupid things. Like get tattoos, jump off of roofs… etc. It essentially has been woven into the fabric of stupid teenagers. It has become an idiom for the idiots. I hate that it has become so adulterated, as the concept is truly quite beautiful. I, being the young, sprite, romantic, and emotional eighteen-year-old that I am, love the notion. Perhaps, as maybe people in my life would suggest, I am one of those idiots. Carpe Diem is actually short for “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” which means, “Seize the day, put very little trust in the future.” Isn’t that lovely? There is a poster hanging in my friend’s dorm that says, “How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now, and there will never be a time when it is not now.” I like that too. I really think they say the same thing: the future will happen whether you take the time to worry about it or not… so just stay centered.” And, carpe diem is written in Latin. The saying is from ancient Rome. Humans have had anxiety since ancient Rome. You are not alone in your fear of the infinite abyss. I guess my point is to really emphasize that this moment is all you are truly guaranteed. Make the most of it. Do not waste your time. Make no haste.

Every now and then you have to “stop and take stock” of your life and get rid of the empty fruits, front the boxes that haven’t sold a lot, and fill in the missing gap. For those of you unfamiliar with the beautiful grocery store system, what I mean is this: every now and then, you need to get rid of the bad people in your life (those with minus stats), appreciate the friends that have been lingering in the back, waiting for their turn to be the most important people in your life, the constant second-placers, and replace the bad people you got rid of. The tricky part is that someone who was once a plus can become a minus and vice versa. That is why you have to do this every now and then, not just like once in a lifetime. You may be surprised to see who has become a minus… Even LeBron isn’t in the top 50 in the league… sometimes even the best people simply are not the best for you. It is hard to admit, but extremely important.

It is up to you, and you alone. Every now… and then? This is now. What you do with now will determine what happens then. So, pose yourself the question: every now, and then?