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The whole notecard exercise was supposed to take only five minutes a day, but by the time five minutes had passed, I hadnât even begun. The first words, the ones that got Jarod laughing, just wouldnât come out.
This is crazy. They were so simple, and no one could hear.
Hell, if I couldnât speak them to myself, how could I ever hope to speak like this to anyone else?
OK, Iâm going to do it. Count of three. 1, 2, 3. I looked up, caught my eyes, and whispered, âI love you, Kelvin,â then quickly sank to the floor.
And there I was, again, crumpled on cold bathroom tiles, crying like a baby.
Why did this hurt so much?
If Jarod did it, heâd quickly say âI love you Jarodâ like it was nothing. Would it be so much easier for him because he wouldnât take the assignment seriously, or because he simply loved himself more? For some reason, this thought got me angry. I hit the floor, punched the wall. Stop being such a loser!
I turned to the list on my notecard, but the words were a blur. I wiped my eyes and tried again.
I stood, faced the mirror, and forced myself to hold steady. Ignore the zits. Focus on whatâs inside, on what matters.
The first trait on my card was generosity. I said, âYou, Kelvin are generous.â That part was easyâthe rest was not. I vividly recalled the bizarre dialog in class when Mr. Griffin had explained all of this.
Jarod raised his hand but didnât wait to be called on to speak. âWhy is Kelvin talking to himself in the third person? Why say, âYou are generous, rather than I am generous?â
âEven more than the Outcome Cards, the Identity Cards work on the subconscious level,â Mr. Griffin replied. âThe third person allows you greater separation from your own baggage, and so it resonates in your mind more like an objective, outside opinion. Itâs speaking in the language of the subconscious, which leads me to the next step. Kelvin, youâll need to state three reasons why you know your statement is true.â
âWhy?â Jarod asked.
âBecause evidence is the building block of belief. Each day of your lives youâve seen the sun rise, so by now you believe with your full heart that it will rise again tomorrow.â
âWhat does that have to do with Kelvin?â Darnell asked.
âIf he keeps feeding his mind evidence that heâs generous, heâll come to believe it as fact. It will become a core part of his identity, of how he sees himself.â
âSo each day I have to come up with new evidence?â I asked.
âIdeally. That doesnât mean you can never repeat something youâve used before. But the more evidence you provide, the more you hammer it in.â
So now I needed evidence of my generosity. My mind went to my three classmates. Iâd helped them all, hadnât I?
I looked back at the mirror. âYou, Kelvin, are generous. You made two flyers for Jarod, you made a video for Christy, and you helped get Darnell a treadmill.â
That went OK, but the next step was ridiculous.
âOnce youâve listed off the evidence,â Mr. Griffin had said, âI want you to come up with a new nickname.â
âA nickname?â I asked.
âYes. Youâll say, âIn fact, youâre so generous, youâre reallyâŠ,â and then you have to plug in a nickname that encapsulates that trait.â
âLike a superhero?â
âPrecisely. Weâre looking for an emotional anchor for this trait in your subconscious. The more fun you make it, the more it will stick. For instance, I could say that Iâm a âbuilder of successful businesses,â but thatâs boring. So I call myself a âsuccess doctor.â Iâm also a love machine, an ironman, and a host of other things that I say to myself each day.â
I stared at myself in the mirror. I just had to get through this. âIn fact, youâre so generous, youâre reallyâŠâ
Really what? I needed something fun, something that would encapsulate my generosity. But if I was ever in a not-fun mood, it was now. What could I say? A tap-tap reverberated through the bathroom. âKelvin?â my mother called. âIs everything OK?â
Though my heart thumped, she probably hadnât heard me crying or punching the walls. But I had been in here for an awfully long time. Plus, sheâd seen my social media post, even responded to it, so she knew something was going on. âYeah, Mom, everythingâs fine.â
âAlright, honeyâŠ.Let me know if you need me.â Her footsteps grew quiet as she returned to her room.
I had to get through this card and out of the bathroom already.
I tried again. âIn fact, youâre so generous, youâre reallyâŠCaptain Generous.â
OK, it was lame, and I knew it. Iâd try to do better tomorrow. But the words nonetheless made me giggle.
Onto the next trait. âKelvin, you are sensitive.â This one was harder. What had I done that was sensitive? Iâd said supportive things to Darnell when he started taping numbers on his chest, rather than making fun of him like others did. Also, Iâd cried when telling myself âI love you.â I guess that was sensitivity. What else?
It took me an hour before Iâd gone through all the traits on the card. Worse, I was spent. Who knew that talking to yourself could be so draining? I flopped on my bed and passed out, still fully dressed, shoes and all.
Risk and Reward
Reading the cards the next morning went much faster. It had to, or I would have been late for school. AhhâŠthe power of deadlines.
On Wednesdays, Darnell and I had lunch together. All he had on his tray were an undressed salad and an apple. I kept my bologna sandwich half hidden from him behind my thermos, as if that would make a difference.
âDown to 235 I see. Wow, thatâs like a pound a day.â
âYeah.â He grinned, but his voice was flat. His grin collapsed as he looked at his salad.
âArenât you hungry?â
âKindaâŠbut no pain, no gain, right?â Darnell pulled out his card and read it to himself before taking a bite out of his apple.
âHow do you know if itâs too much pain?â
âI dunno. I just wanna hit the goal on my card.â He put the card away and wiped his forehead. âI can suck it up for another few days. Iâve gotten this far, havenât I?â
* * *
Christy burst into fifth period, cheering that her team won their latest swim meet, making them 3-0 for the season.
I didnât want to offer a report. I wasnât embarrassed to shareâI wouldnât tell them the full details of my break down. Itâs just that I still didnât get the point of what I was doing and definitely didnât believe the words I was saying. So maybe it was embarrassment. I felt like the loser in class with the dork assignment.
Fortunately, Jarod had news. âI reached this guy, Bill. He runs a big landscaping business a couple of towns over. He didnât have a lot of time for me, but he offered me a deal.â
âWhatâs the deal?â Mr. Griffin asked.
âHe says heâs got a big job heâs working this Saturday. He can use another set of capable hands. If Iâm willing to come work the full day for nothing, then I can ask him as many questions as I like while we work.â
âWhat did you say?â
âI wanted to think about it but didnât tell him that. So I told him Iâve got a job that Iâd see if I could move to another time. Iâm supposed to get back to him with an answer today.â
âWhy the hesitation?â
âIâve got my own jobs I can be working Saturday and actually get paid. I can push them off a day, but that means Iâll be working like a dog on Sunday. No doubt Bill will work me hard on Saturday too, and he expects me to do the entire thing for free.â
âIt sounds like youâve made up your mind. Why didnât you tell him ânoâ on the spot?â
âTruthfully, I wanted to wait until I spoke with you, Mr. Griffin. Do you think Iâd be making a mistake?â
Wow. Jarod seeking out the advice of a teacher? These cards were certainly having an effect on him.
Mr. Griffin smiled. âYou really want to know what I think?â
âYes, I do.â
âI think youâd be making a giant mistake.â
âSo you think I should work for free?â
âFree? Absolutely not.â
âSo what do I do? Go back and see if heâll pay me for the day?â
âNo, his offer was clear. Take him up on his offer and donât ask for any money for your work.â
Jarod laughed. âDidnât you just say I shouldnât work for free?â
âNo oneâs asking you to. Never be afraid to give value to get value. Heâs offering you something potentially far more valuable than money: his advice.â
Jarod crossed his arms. âHow do I know what thatâs worth?â
âYou donât.â
âSoooâŠâ
âThereâs a concept I want you all to learn called Asymmetrical Risk/ Reward.â
âYou finally gonna teach us some math?â Jarod asked.
âNot exactly. Asymmetrical Risk/Reward means you want to put yourself in situations where you risk little to potentially gain much.â
âLike betting on long shots?â Jarod asked.
âNo, more like betting on favorites with long shot odds.â
âThey never give that option at the track,â Jarod said.
âNo, they donât. The tracks and the casinos will always stack the odds against you, whether youâre betting on favorites or long shots. But in life, odds can vary greatly.â
âLike how?â Christy asked.
âYou experienced two opposite examples of Asymmetrical Risk/Reward, Christy, when you lost a swim coach, and then when you gained a new one.â
âI donât follow,â she said.
âYou lost your coach to a drunk driver. Getting behind the wheel when heâd been drinking put the driver and others at tremendous risk. Yet the reward, the pleasure of a few drinks, was minimal.â
Christy recoiled.
âThen you found a great new coach by calling the top swim coaches in the world. The risk was negligibleâit only took a few hours of your timeâbut the rewards were tremendous.â
Jarod pursed his lips. âSo youâre saying that my risk here is just a day of lost wages. If Bill has nothing valuable to teach me, then Iâve worked for nothing, which is no big deal. But if he has something worthwhile to share, if he can help me reach my goal, then I could eventually make thousands of dollars from that one dayâs work.â
Mr. Griffin nodded. âAsk any successful business person how much their biggest mistakes have cost them. Youâll be shocked by the numbers they give. If you can learn from anotherâs mistakes, you can save yourself years of hardship. The flip side is also true. It probably took him years to learn his most profitable lessons. And you can get all that for one day of sweat.â
Jarod pulled out his phone. âIâll do it.â
* * *
I continued reading my cards twice a day, checking off the app each time. While it was never quite easy, I didnât break down like I had that first time. I became more creative with my nicknames and started to enjoy the exercise. Captain Generosity gave way to Generosity Man, which didnât sound quite as cool, but at least had a theme song (âgenerosity man, generosity man, giving all that generosity canâ). And then there was Sensitivity Superstar, which made me think of the Emmyâs.
That Friday night, I babysat again. I asked Megan what kind of pizza she wanted, though
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