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Schmuck — I use the word constantly, and, when I use it, it's usually in the phrase “I feel like a schmuck.” It's true. I'm a schmuck. I mess up constantly. The truth is that we all mess up constantly. I just happen to admit my faults easily. Bethany once said that I'm “really good at self-reflection”.

It's true: I don't cover up my faults; I don't hide the person who I am; I don't keep my struggles a secret; I don't conceal the things that I don't have a problem with that others might not like about myself. At the same time, I don't actively flaunt them. Flaunting every detail of your life is bragging. Still, people who know me know what I deal with.

I've made a new discovery: self reflection can often just mean that you're too wrapped up in yourself that when it comes to faults and shortcomings, you're always thinking about your own faults and shortcomings.¹ I'm not talking about being judgemental towards others or calling them schmucks. I'm talking about simply listening to them. On my way back from Chicago, I had one of those moments where I just felt like I was doing too much talking and not enough listening.

Normally, I'd write some nifty conclusion here, but I'm tired, and you get the point.

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1. Just like what I'm doing now.