Because I wanna!

Why do we do the things we do? I can't tell how many times someone has asked me, why I do or did something. I find the answer to be very simple: I wanted to. Some say that's not a good enough reason... They expect some long story about how I needed to do something in order to obtain something... Frankly, I find those so called reasons to be a big load of bull.



Let's break it down a little bit. Let's go back to when we were kids...
What does a child do, when he (I'm a guy, the masculine pronoun comes more naturally to me... sorry, girls!) sees something cool? He either goes and takes it, or, if unable to do the afore mentioned, calls out to mommy or daddy and says, "I want that!" Then mommy or daddy let's his or her brain go through an algorithm, that has been perfected over years, that determines whether little tyke can get whatever it is that he wants. Now, for arguments sake, let's say that the algorithm determines that little tyke can't get said cool thing. Now mommy or daddy generates some random excuses as to why tyke can't get the thing. They go along the lines of, "you've been a bad boy", "we don't have the time", "you already have something like that", "you already got a new toy last week", "you don't play with the toys you already have" or, if tyke is slightly older and bigger than a toddler, "you're grades were terrible last term!". And so, Tyke (it seems that that has become his name...) must start compiling his own little algorithm that he can use to get what he wants. The algorithm is usually known as finding a reason. So next time he'll say something like, "I did good last term. Can I have that?" or "I need that so that I can do this". And he'll start thinking like so: "I have to do that, or else I'll not get this".



In a way, it's good. Kids get to understand the idea behind cause and effect and get a feel for the worth of things (kinda like, just because he took the trash out once doesn't mean he gets a brand new X-Box). But it makes life much more complicated! I mean, life is SO much simpler, if you know that I'm only attending this seminar because I want to. Not because my mommy told me to. And also not because my best friend dragged me to it, threatening to kill me and steal my girlfriend if I didn't. It also means that I and I alone make the choices in my life and the choices I make are in my own interests (Note: I didn't say that they were in my best interests). I find that people who have all sorts of reasons to do something or other are actually coming up with ways of having something else take responsibility for their own actions. I mean, it's like "Yeah, I punched that person in the face and I know that's assault, but it's because he insulted me!". That sentence is of equal meaning to this one: "That man said something and I felt that it wasn't the nicest thing to say. I chose to get angry and to show my anger, I smashed his face in with my fist, knowing full well, that that is also not a nice thing to do and is generally not acceptable in society." What I see there is simply, "He said something. I didn't like it. I chose to punch him in the face because I wanted to."



Anywho, I'm rambling. And I suddenly realised, that there is an important aspect of "I wanna" that I haven't looked at yet. So as you may have guessed, I really like wanting things. But what are the benefits? For one, I only do things I want to do or things that end up with a result I want to have. That means I'll never be angry or sad because of having to do something I don't want to do.
Another great thing is that if my only reason to do something is that I want to, and have no reason not to, then I can very easily discontinue long term projects and things if and when I don't want to any more. Simply because I have no reason to continue. There's nothing holding me down or tying me to some unwanted task.



Now, I've rambled and been grouchy for long enough and you have seen that I promote being whimsical, so long as you don't get in the way of my whims. It makes life so much easier and nicer, doesn't it? Have fun, and do stuff you want this summer (and after too, if you want to...).