Being Michael Scott

Some of you may know that I love the show The Office.  I couldn't even begin to tell you what sucked me in, but I just love it.  It makes me laugh, and that's always a good thing.  My least favorite character, however, is one that almost everyone else adores...Michael Scott.  I understand that the show wouldn't be the same without him, and I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if he weren't there, but that character just irritates me (especially in the earlier episodes).  However, the other day I was watching an episode and I was struck by a startling realization.

We are all Michael Scott.

Here's the thing about Michael.  More than anything, he wants to be cool.  He wants a cool job and a cool girlfriend, and lots of cool friends.  Jim is the coolest guy in the office, and Michael wants to believe that he and Jim are best friends.  Pam is the prettiest, and so Michael imagines that Pam is attracted to him.  Michael is too afraid to show his true personality, so he puts on this over-the-top act so people will think he's cool.

And I have to wonder, how many of us do this on a daily basis?  How many people buy the coolest fashions and read all the hip magazines just so they can fit in?  How many young girls starve themselves simply so they can be as thin as a model and be "cool?"  How many people truly act like themselves 100% of the time?  I know I don't.  There are very few people who have seen 100% of me.  That said, I feel like one of the lucky ones.  My job allows me to act more like myself than anything else, and that's a blessing.  But how many people have that?

Maybe if we stopped looking to please other people, maybe if we took time to realize what we really wanted instead of worrying about what others think of us, then maybe, just maybe, we'd be a little happier.  And when you're happy, that comes across well.  And when you come across well to others, you make friends.  And the more friends you have, the cooler you are.  Ah, it's so simple yet so complicated.

So, my challenge to you:  Stop being Michael Scott.  Start being you.