In April 2016, there was a big brouhaha over the “Try Not To Suck” t-shirts the Cubs baseball players and fans were wearing at the Cardinal games in St. Louis.
Apparently, someone in the Cardinal management was offended by this phrase and decided to ban the shirts.
Seriously?
Maybe at one time “suck” had sexual connotations, but to suck at something has become part of our national lexicon.
We all suck at something.
And sometimes we suck at things we are really good at, like tennis.
Once I told my partner at the beginning of a match that our goal should be to try not to suck. We sucked anyway. Okay, so the other team was better than us, but we still sucked.
So, my definition of “to try not to suck” is an inevitable occurrence that often happens when you think you can avoid it, but don’t.
Here’s some more “try nots” along the same lines:
- Try not to get wet
- Try not to eat too much
- Try not to yell at your partner
- Try not to drink too much
- Try not to cry
- Try not to overprotect your children
- Try not to fall
- Try not to be jealous
- Try not to spend too much money
- Try not to die
Yeah, yeah. That last one is a little morbid, but hey, you know it’s true. What else do we try not to do?
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I’m a writer, marketer, and storyteller who has always been curious about people—what they do, what they create, what they believe, and how the places and experiences around us shape our lives. After more than three decades in healthcare and senior living design, I’ve given myself a new title: CEO of What’s Next. These days, that means writing personal essays and my first novel, telling stories on stage, traveling, exploring Chicago, and following whatever sparks my curiosity.