Craft By Zen

šŸ“– 2 min read

šŸ”– newsletter   season_2   letters

The Negligence Problem

My glasses were falling apart. I owned them for 4 years and couldnā€™t persuade myself to get a new pair. To obtain a new pair, Iā€™d need a new prescription. And being sensitive about my eyesight and didnā€™t want to face the prospect of the optometrist diagnosing me a stronger prescription.

Broken Glasses
Broken Glasses

So I did the insensible. I neglected to replace the pair of glasses. And I had no excuse. I had health insurance. There was a hurdle in my mind I couldnā€™t jump over.

The hurdle started with facing the news I will have a stronger prescription. Which leads to being deemed legally blind because my eyesight had deteriorated. Which triggered my fear of being blind.

At that point, Iā€™d think about something else. When the topic came up again, Iā€™d repeat this cycle of worry, hesitation, and negligence.

I broke down when bad became worse. On of the nostril pads came off, so I needed a replacement. I came to my senses and figured out the first actionable step.

Breaking the Cycle

I went online to determine how to schedule an appointment with an optometrist. My hospital website had had online booking. Bingo.

I went in for the appointment and to my surprise, my eyes were the same as they were 4 years ago. By letting myself slip, I failed to see the absurdity of my own bias. All the moments of worry were for nothing. All the times I wondered what if, wasted.

Not broken glasses
Not broken glasses

An Introduction

We all make mistakes. We all fail to do, or sometimes not do, the important things in life. I want to raise the bar and stop this repetition.

The negligence problem is one of my failures. Itā€™s one of many failures. Each week Iā€™ll break down a different repeated mistake. My aim is to generalize failures common to everyone, although my intent is to write it for my future self if I were to relapse. If this model helps other people, thatā€™s an added benefit.

Bookmark this for later. Re-read often. Weā€™re going to have a fun two months exposing my weaknesses.


Written by Jeremy Wong and published on .


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