Today I set some boundaries with someone who is very hard on me, but I did it anyway and I didn't feel bad. I set some boundaries with myself. I said no.
Boundary #1: The Queen's Gambit
Last night, I was watching The Queen's Gambit on Netflix about a young woman who is a chess grandmaster and a drug addict. The show came recommended from a few friends so I thought I'd give it a try. Claire-Adele played competitive chess in elementary school and she was decent. She has a pennant in her room that said "Chess Club" from Archie McPhee's. I think the flag was intended to be ironic, but Claire-Adele took it literally, which is fine. She is a literal kind of girl. Anyhow, I thought the show would be interesting since I know a little bit about chess.
The first episode was about the girl's childhood in an orphanage after her mentally ill mother committed suicide.
Nope. I am done. The Boy goes to therapeutic boarding school and this hits a little too close to home. Sure, brilliant people can have drug addictions and can be functional, but that is the exception, not the rule. I am going to skip the rest of the episodes.
And why do they have to portray a genius woman as a nut? Can't we have a series about a sane genius woman?
Boundary #2: Gardenscapes
I succumbed to a pop up ad on my phone and downloaded this this game. It looked cute and I thought I'd try it. "Spend hours watching Austin live his life!" is an actual quote from the home-screen of this game. Instead, it should read "Watch a little animated butler live his life while you waste hours of yours." Instead of me playing the game, the game played me. I spent three days trying to defeat level 87 without giving the app company my credit card to buy a booster pack. I've had this game on my phone for a week. Today, I was mentally spinning and I couldn't figure out why. The game helped me avoid feeling my feelings and left me in a funk.
Do I need this in my life, a game that sucks away my time, attention and positive energy?
Nope.
I deleted the game from my phone this afternoon. After dinner, I vacuumed my apartment instead of trying to beat level 92. I placed my mental health hygiene above this game.
Boundary #3: Bad Soup
I made my favorite vegetable soup Sunday and it didn't turn out like it usually does. It smelled and tasted like turnips, which is odd because the other 23 times I made the soup I couldn't taste the turnips at all. I never knew turnips had a flavor. I thought they were just a bland root vegetable used to add heft soups and stews. My soup was gross, which is too bad because the advantage of making soup means I get lunch and dinner for a week. Do I need to finish this batch of soup which I hate?
Nope.
Boundary #4: The Puzzle
In June, I ordered three puzzles from Kickstarter. They came in the mail today. I already had another puzzle on the coffee table that was about 75% done.
Do I need to finish the first puzzle before I start one of the new ones?
Nope.
I took the first puzzle and put it back in the box and opened one of the new ones.
_____
Where on earth did I get this crazy ideas in my head that I have to finish a puzzle, eat all of the soup, watch the whole series, play the whole game? I understand the principle of "start what you finish." That can be a satisfying thing to do and useful when it comes to my job, but does that mean I have to finish everything I start?
Nope.
I am the leader of my life. I get to choose.
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