LOOMIS: Worry warts can self indulge, too

When was the last time someone told you, "Don't think about it, just do it"? It is one of those commonly used phrases I have a hard time grasping because I think about almost everything in detail. I suppose some answers come easily including when I saw a girl slap a guy at a house party because he used that phrase in a sexual connotation.

Other times, that comment is so counterintuitive that I am surprised someone doesn't get slapped. I once had a writing teacher tell me to think less and write more during an assignment. Me, think less?

Obviously, those examples are simple scenarios, but how about when they are applied to individual lifestyles? You may know someone who never seems to worry about anything except what is happening in the next five minutes. You may even be that person.

But for me and many others, that mindset is so darn difficult to obtain.

I have a friend who is so carefree I am sometimes jealous of him. He never seems to have any money, but he does what he wants when he wants to do it, especially if it involves fun. He can drop his inhibitions and forego plans of high-importance in search of excitement.

Sure it sounds a little irresponsible, but things always fall into place for him. His plans are only limited to which way the wind blows.

Last semester, just weeks before spring break, he had gotten a DUI. Charges for such an offense are not light on personal freedoms or the wallet. Nonetheless, he stopped at nothing to go on the weeklong fishing trip we take to Missouri every year.

After redlining bank accounts and a reality check that had us pining for next year, he had to come to face with his criminal charge. As his luck would have it, he hired a lawyer in hopes of getting it dropped, and he won.

Then you have me. I am busy with school and work and all of that jazz, but I feel like I don't go back to my home town enough to visit my folks. We are as close as parents and a son can be, but previous experiences with my car have me worried about making extended trips.

The reality is, my family does not live incredibly far from Lincoln, but after several hundred dollars in repairs and rolling on balding tires and a broken jack for my spare, I have this unwarranted fear of my car breaking down. It hasn't had malfunctions in months, but I still feel like it is smarter to avoid the chance of safety concerns and costs until I can buy a new one in a couple of months.

I think there are two general types of people in this world. There is the type that can be free as a bird now and suffer the consequences later. This type usually risks the chance that the consequences are rarely severe. 

Then there is the person who assumes all outcomes prior to acting on an event, usually planning for the worst. This person comes across as more logical, but maybe they aren't always living their lives to the fullest.

I quickly became defensive of my own personality generalizations. I feel that I try to live life to the fullest, but truthfully, maybe I could try harder. I don't know if God's intentions were remotely limited to the schedule of work and school, or in my case, banking on the probability that my car will burst into flames.

Obviously, being diligent and planning ahead are highly respected qualities among people, but are they important in the grand scheme of life? Maybe the best person values enjoying oneself, the company of others and keeping everything simple.

I am far from Dr. Phil, which I am actually thankful for, but reflecting upon my tendencies compared with those of my close friends seemed to give me a pretty definitive answer.

My overly worrisome and overly observant self is good in many applications, and my friend's ability to drop everything and forget about things for a while can also be oddly logical.

I decided the best person would be somewhere in the middle. As difficult as it may be, we should all strive to be the person who is a little bit of both. Try to be the person who can be respected for attention to detail and forward-thinking but also values the importance of self-fulfillment and is OK with taking classes off for the day.

Perhaps I am, like usual, just thinking about the small things too much. Following my own advice, I am going to flip the switch off in my mind more often to make like Nike and "Just Do It."

Josh Loomis is a junior Fisheries and Wildlife major. Reach him at joshloomis@dailynebraskan.com.