The “Fuck It” Principle

There’s something to be said for hesitation. I mean, it exists for a reason. It makes us stop and think about possible consequences of our actions. Hesitation has helped us survive. It’s what stops us from touching the hot plate with that delicious sizzling food so we don’t burn ourselves. It’s often what seperates us from the other animals around us–that consideration, that forethought, that what we do will inevitably set a series of events into motion. So I do no, by any means, want to insult the concept of ‘hesitating’ or ‘thinking before you leap’.

I just think we’ve become addicted to it.

What started as a survival tactic has somehow turned into something that cripples us. We hesitate too long, we conjure up far too many consequences–some even so extreme the likliness of it even happening is ridiculously slim but still so terrifying that it paralyzes us. We find ourselves completely frozen in that ‘pre-jump’ moment.

So I’d like to propose The “Fuck It” Principle.

It’s a simple enough concept, and it’s done well enough by me that I feel obligated to share it.

The “Fuck It” Principle doesn’t throw hesitation or forethought out the window, in fact, for me, it’s actually an essential part of it. It consists of essentially being presented with a choice that you know could have some relatively impactful (emotionally or actual) consequences, evaluating your hesitation and then going for it. And I truly mean ‘evaluating’ your hesitation. Is this something you really want? So what’s actually stopping you? What’s causing that hesitation? More than half the time you’ll realize it’s a fear of failure.

So it comes down to simply… is the chance that you’ll succeed or that you’ll be happier doing something than not, more important than your hesitation?

There’s a great quote in Macbeth–which is terrible to reference, I guess because they were talking about killing the King… but let’s forget it’s in reference to regicide, shall we? Mackers starts to say, “If we fail–” and he’s cut off by Lady M who simply says “We fail.” That’s it. If it happens, it happens.

You want to talk to that hottie at the bar but are worried you’ll be shot down? You can either fret and hesitate and feel that lump of fear grow in you or you can take a breath, mutter, “Fuck it” and just go for it.

For me, what started it was dealing with my student loans. Staring this big financial monster in the face gave me an honestly crippling fear–to the point where I thought I could get away with working two full time jobs with no time for art/theater/writing and still be sane. This is a joke. I would have crumpled into a heap of tears (and did!) and sleep deprivation. So I weighed all my options, I accepted the things I couldn’t change and I simply said, “Fuck it, I can’t give up acting.”

Because of that, I’m now performing in a show I wrote. That alone has made me infinitely happier than being able to shoulder that student loan payment on my own.

It’s definitely something that requires risks and it’s definitely something that can end disasterously… but I think… I think I’d rather make big mistakes and have a story to tell than play it safe all the time. You may be able to prevent something bad from happening to you if you let those hesitations hold you in place, but you know what? Even more likely, you’ll prevent something amazing from happening.

I want little bracelets, instead of ‘WWJD’, they will simply say “FI” or “F**K IT” (Because kids could be looking at it and you should be considerate, damn it)  and every time you start to feel like you’re getting too much in your head, you’ll look down and go, “Oh yeah, I’m awesome.”