# Things I Would Change About Myself **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047 "2004-10-13T18:30:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/1 "2004-10-13T18:30:15Z")
I think I’m way too uptight, sort of. My brain will consider all manner of zany, off-color, off-the-wall antics, but my superego has an ironclad half-nelson on my id. I need to break the hold so that I’d actually be more than half-capable of socializing. I need to be more diligent about updating my website, too. I let it fester for shameful lengths of time. So, what would other folks change about themselves? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/2 "2004-10-13T18:38:05Z")
Dude, my id is my superego’s little bitch. I feel your pain. I wish I could live a little, too. Part of me would love to have a reckless, unplanned, wild weekend. It’ll never happen, though. I wish I were a little more introverted. I sometimes process my thoughts verbally, and I tend to say things aloud before I’ve fully thought them through. ---
**Author:** ![Eliphalet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eliphalet/32/9563_2.png) [@Eliphalet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliphalet)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/3 "2004-10-13T19:13:48Z")
Where to start? I’d work out more. I really need to take care of myself better. I’d work on my procrastination. I keep coming up with great ideas, and never implement them. Maybe tomorrow… Probably should improve my temper. I fly off the handle more often than I should. But those _&%&_^ kids just :smack: (Doing it again :D) Other than that, I’m pretty perfect. Oh, yeah, one more. Get my oversized ego under control. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/4 "2004-10-13T19:53:03Z")
I would give myself a higher salary… ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/5 "2004-10-13T20:02:42Z")
I’d exercise and eat better. I’d stop with the massively pessimistic thoughts. Actually, I enjoy the little scenarios I play out in my head. Also, when something bad does happen, it’s never as bad as I’d imagined, so little hurts don’t hurt as much. I’d roleplay more and work less. ---
**Author:** ![Tiggrkitty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tiggrkitty/32/17966_2.png) [@Tiggrkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiggrkitty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/6 "2004-10-13T20:16:06Z")
I would stop being a damn perfectionist. Things do not have to be perfect all the time. The house does not have to be perfectly clean, it can have a lived in look. The dinner servings do not have to look like Emeril prepared them to be photographed. I drive myself crazy trying to organize everything into perfection. I think I will go mess up the livingroom now. No wait! That means I would have to straighten it up! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/7 "2004-10-13T22:06:25Z")
The requisite eating better/exercising more, of course. Also, I would be waaaay more patient with life’s unexpected annoyances. I’m _really_ good at being patient when I expect to have to be: with children, with the service at some restaurants, on lines at the amusement park, sitting in traffic, waiting at the DMV, etc. I’m quite mellow and pleasant in those situations, actually. But give me a machine that suddenly stops working for no apparent reason, unexpected trouble finding a parking spot, a concept I don’t grasp as quickly as I think I should, or a 35-year-old co-worker who is acting like a child, and I’m not so mellow. ☹ I also have very little patience with the willfully ignorant, the intolerant, the rude, the exceedingly insecure/needy, and a few other “types.” Mostly, I’d be more patient with my Mom. She drives me up a freaking wall (and so does her house; she’s a bit of a pack rat). I think I know why she bugs me so much, but I wish I could learn to just humour her and appreciate having a Mom who is mostly a good person and who genuinely cares about me. For right now, though, I’m really glad that we don’t live in the same state. (Geez, I’m a pain in the ass. 😉 ) So yeah, more patience would probably be the first thing I’d ask the genie for. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/8 "2004-10-13T23:20:24Z")
> [@Tiggrkitty](#): > > I would stop being a damn perfectionist. Things do not have to be perfect all the time. The house does not have to be perfectly clean, it can have a lived in look. The dinner servings do not have to look like Emeril prepared them to be photographed. > > I drive myself crazy trying to organize everything into perfection. > > I think I will go mess up the livingroom now. No wait! That means I would have to straighten it up! 😃 Live with me for a week or two. You’ll probably go crazy, but in the end you won’t care about being a slob. I actually would work on my organizational skills to be more neat. I used to be reasonable about it, but now everything just piles up on me till I manage to clear enough out. I let my id rule the day a lot of times, but then I also let my superego do some moderation every now and then. I’d stop smoking, and I’d make myself taller. I’d like to be about 3 inches taller, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/9 "2004-10-13T23:55:41Z")
I am trying to lose some weight, but I need to excersise more, the go everywhere by car mentality I have picked up in USA isn’t good for my health. Maybe the OP should go to a modern art museum to get more culture 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/10 "2004-10-14T00:28:31Z")
I want to be able to fly. Really, that’s my biggest flaw. I believe, that with diligence and courage, a man can overcome any personal obstacle. I’ll give it another go, right after my leg heals. ---
**Author:** ![Tiggrkitty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tiggrkitty/32/17966_2.png) [@Tiggrkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiggrkitty)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/11 "2004-10-14T00:41:20Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > Live with me for a week or two. You’ll probably go crazy, but in the end you won’t care about being a slob. I actually would work on my organizational skills to be more neat. I used to be reasonable about it, but now everything just piles up on me till I manage to clear enough out. \*:: laughs out loud :: \* Trust me. You would break before I did. I would end up keeping things clean before you could pile, and would then have a “chat” with you. If the chat didn’t work, you would find some other place to live. I am that anal about a clean house. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/12 "2004-10-14T00:51:53Z")
I would increase my \*medichlorian \* count. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/13 "2004-10-14T00:53:07Z")
Dear diary, Nope. Still not a Jedi. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/14 "2004-10-14T01:20:07Z")
The hell with exercising and eating better. If I could change anything about myself, it would be to give myself one of those metabolisms where I could eat foie gras, fettucine alfredo, and cheesecake 3 times a day and still be thin and healthy without exercise. Other than that, I’m perfect. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/15 "2004-10-14T12:44:27Z")
Stop being so incredibly hard on myself and cut myself a break once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/16 "2004-10-14T13:14:21Z")
I would like to be thin again, but I’m working on it. I would like to be a nicer guy, but I’m working on it. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/17 "2004-10-14T13:16:04Z")
[ul] [li] Become more at ease in social situations and not be such an introvert; not be afraid to speak my mind, not care that other people may disagree with me and my opinions and judge me on this basis and possibly even dislike me.[/li][li] Bring my temper under control. I am very impatient by nature, so I tend to lose my cool with minor problems that most people can just brush off.[/li][li] Become a more patient and less aggressive driver.[/li][li] Put an end to the procrastination. I have a never-ending list of projects that have been put off time and time again. When I do go back to such projects I tend to drop them again at the first sign of difficulty.[/li][li] Not be such a pessimist and try to have a more positive outlook on some things.[/li][li] Become more tidy and oganized.[/li][li] Eat better, exercise more.[/li][li] Go to bed earlier and get more sleep.[/li][li] Get over my dating inhibitions, put past relationship failures behind me and get out there and have some fun.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/18 "2004-10-14T13:32:12Z")
Like others have said, get in shape. But there is more to it than just that- There lies a gulf in my mind between what I want and what I am willing to do to get it. In other words, I’m almost never motivated to work to achieve what I want, and it is very frustrating. I had always thought that the more badly you want something, the harder you work at it, but not everyone (myself included) can get that motivational ‘tunnel vision’ to concentrate on one and one thing only in order to acheive their goals. Another thing I would change is being more motivated in school. No matter how much I may be enjoying classes, it is a herculean effort to get myself to study, or do anything outside of the class. Its like my brain is only running when I’m in class, and when I’m done, I want to concentrate on other things, like going to work, or sleeping 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/19 "2004-10-14T16:04:52Z")
Gotta add that exercise one myself, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047/20 "2004-10-14T16:58:13Z")
I’d figure out what I want to do with my life and try to do it, instead of being unemployed and miserable all the time, applying to dozens of jobs in a field that I hate and not getting any positive results. Even if that meant going back to school for another degree beyond my J.D., I should probably do it. I’d despise myself less, and stop wishing before bed every night that maybe I wouldn’t wake up. (I AM NOT SUICIDAL, I SWEAR. JUST DEPRESSED AND SELF-LOATHING. THERE IS A MAJOR DIFFERENCE.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-would-change-about-myself/269047.md?page=2)