24 mistakes I've made in 24 years

So for the last three years I’ve written on my birthday about the few things I’ve learned over the years, some have been common sense (really common….as in everyone else realized it when they were six, and I found out when I was 23) and some have been epiphanies that changed my outlook on life from that point on. This year I decided to change it up a bit and talk about 24 mistakes I’ve made in 24 years, luckily I’ve learned from the mistakes I’ve made (most of them at least) and try my hardest not to repeat them but who knows what the hell’s gonna happen in the next 24 years…

1) being content with being content…after graduation I felt it was over, I let the best years of my life pass by me and had nothing to show for it….I put on 30lbs, read a bunch of self help books and sat around thinking that this was my life and I should accept it…..FUCK THAT!!!!! After eight months of sulking I made changes in my life that I knew I’d be happy with for the rest of it. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over, it’s never too late to go after what you want, it might be a little harder the second time around but those student loans will pay for themselves somehow.
2) cosigning with someone that ISN’T your wife, mom, or dad….I won’t get in to the disgusting, tiring, and painful details but let’s just say this was a big mistake….HUGE!!!!

3) blaming others for my faults and mistakes…no one makes your decisions for you, no one can force you to do something without a gun to your head so when the outcome isn’t in your favor there’s no reason to get pissed and point your chubby little finger at others….except when Alex told me to hit on 16 at that blackjack table in Vegas…..goddamn alex

4) being a pansy….yes I was a pansy, I say pansy because I’d never call myself a pussy. There were many times I kept quiet to avoid the argument, to go along with whatever or whomever, regardless if I was happy or not with it. Again I say FUCK THAT!!!! Naveed Shan is no pansy, Naveed will take on whatever or whoever and the outcome will be victorious and Naveed Shan always refers to himself in third person
5)waiting until tomorrow to do it, if there’s any mistake I made more it’s procrastination…waking up at 3am to study for the exam at 8, starting my diet on Monday after eating a whole pizza on Friday….it never works, and it’s a freak occurrence when it does….you want to start something, start it now!

6)putting darks, whites, and towels all in the same wash…I saved like an hour of washing but all my clothes smell like Listerine and they end up linty.

7) putting aside my family for petty shit that means nothing in the long run. When’s the last time you took your mom to see some sappy movie she’d been dying to see? When’s the last time you spent an hour at game works just to see your little brother smile? When’s the last time you called your dad just to say “hey Dad, can I have $500?” I waited way too long for these things and missed out on way too much…money will be there to be made, and the stupid priorities you put in front of them won’t mean shit in the long run….

8) Putting aside my friends for petty shit that means nothing in the long run. I truly believe I’ve been blessed to have some amazing people around me, people who’ve withstood my bullshit and have still been there in the end. They knew who they are and I love the shit out them for always being by my side even if I haven’t always been by theirs.

9) Spending….no…wasting money on the unimportant and unpractical…I’ve wasted so much of my income on useless shit I don’t use after a month it’s disgusting….so if anyone wants to buy a pet rock let me know

10) thinking “all you need is love”….sorry Beatles you were wrong….dead wrong….only in the last 4 years have I been in serious relationships and only then did I realize life isn’t really like the notebook or that other Nicholas Sparks movie with Hannah Montana…relationships take work….a shit load of work…they take patience, commitment, and trust and if you’re lacking in any of those you better be damn good looking because that goes a long way too…

11) thinking anything….ANYTHING will work itself out…fuck that, effort works itself out. Things just don’t fall into place, and if they do it’s wasn’t just happenstance…to fix or correct the mistakes you made they have to be tackled head on, it’s an all out fucking war and you better come out victorious or your limp lifeless body will be carried off by the survivors…maybe that’s too intense but you can’t just ignore problems

12)saying “yes” all the time….I always say you can’t please everyone and make them happy and yet up to this point I’ve tried to please everyone and tried to make everyone happy….and no I won’t write you out a free workout program because we’re friends on facebook.

13) always having excuses for not doing something...”I wish I could but…(insert bullshit excuse here)” if you truly want something you’ll make it work…it may take sacrifice but if you want something you’ll find a way to do it…
14) not warming up before a workout….just sayin’….it would have saved me a lot of injuries in the long run…

15) arguing with idiots….everybody is entitled to their opinion…even if it’s retarded…let the tea partiers party, the liberals do nothing, and the ignorant say stupid shit all the time…it really has no effect on you…

16) thinking half ass is good enough…half ass is never good enough…if you’re gonna do it half ass you might as well not do it…you’re never satisfied with the end result…well if you are you shouldn’t be proud of that shit…

17) giving up…this kind of goes along with number 16…a quote I often look back to “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” I want to tattoo these words on my forearm just so I never forget. Truth be told we’re capable of much more than we allow ourselves and tasks we label as too hard or impossible just take a little more persistence than others.

18) never try to wait until after an exam to use the restroom…you’ll only think about peeing the entire time and you damn near piss yourself by the 25th question.

19)too much of anything is a bad thing…I have an uber-obsessive addictive personality…if it’s not food it’s diet coke, if it’s not diet coke it’s hookah, if it’s not hookah it’s Katy Perry. I don’t care what it is, too much of it is unhealthy…I really should see a doctor about my urine being hot pink.

20) holding back because of fear of failure…while I completely agree that a certain amount of fear is a good thing, it shouldn’t hold you back from doing something you want to do. Everyone fails, no one has a perfect success rate, and if they do they’re full of shit. The worst thing that can happen is you have to get back up and try again but at least you’ll be a little smarter about it the second time around.

21) not talking to my Dad for two years…while this is a touchy subject I seldom get into, it was two years of my life I wish I could take back more than anything. If you’re lucky enough to have a father in your life you should cherish it as much as you can. My dad is very demanding and possibly crazy but he has always been there for me regardless of my countless fuck ups.

22) wasting time…yup this blog is a waste of time but I enjoy talking about myself so fuck it…time is one of the most important and valuable assets you have, you can always make more money to always buy more useless shit but time is something you’ll never get back….so stop wasting it!!!! But don’t stop reading this I’m almost finished…

23) putting too much on my plate thinking it won’t be that hard and I can finish everything perfectly. This is both a metaphor and also I literally put way too much on my plate at buffets….while I usually finish the plate I have to be carried out and get the itis super bad soon after. I think it’s just my personality to pack every waking hour with something whether it’s school, work, or training and I always think I can do it all….well I never do. Multitasking is a fucking crock…it doesn’t work, if you have to finish five things, I guarantee at least three will suffer. Most important aspects of your life take much of your energy and time, leaving little for other tasks at hand so arrange your priorities accordingly and do what you have to with as much focus and attention as it needs.

24) the twenty-fourth should be the biggest mistake I’ve made it but it really isn’t….only because they are all pretty bad….but here it is…trying to fit in….truth be told I’m a weird fuckin’ guy….I listen to Mozart and Johnny Cash when I walk to class, I have to have my bed made every day while the rest of my room is a shit hole, and my decision making process is totally out of wack so there’s no way I can fit in with the people around me…but there’s nothing wrong with that, for years I’ve tried to fit in but it’s like jamming an obtuse triangle peg into a circle…it’s just not working….embrace you’re weirdness, if everybody acted like a fucking cool guy all the goddamn time we’d all have on skinny jeans and blow outs….or whatever the fuck cool guys wear…