Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:55 — 5.8MB) | Embed

Paint By Number

Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Mark Des Cotes, my baby girl turned 16 this past weekend, and I believe if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I talk about colouring outside the lines.

Send in your contributions for this week’s Friday Forum. Head on over to goldenspiralmedia.com/feedback and use the form on that page to submit your written or audio message. You can also use the Speakpipe widget to record something using your devices microphone. And of course you can call our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. We’d love to hear from you.

Today’s Fun Fact of the Day: Today is November 11th a day dedicated to the members of the armed forces. But did you know that it’s meaning is different around the world.
In the USA November 11th is known as Veterans Day and it honours people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Until 1954 it was called Armistice Day.
It’s still called Armistice Day in New Zealand, France, Belgium and Serbia but it’s a day to celebrate the end of hostilities in WW1.
In Poland it’s called National Independence Day where they commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland’s Sovereignty.
Here in Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom and Australia November 11th is knows as Remembrance Day. A day to remember the members of the armed forces who gave their lives in the line of duty.
So wherever you are, I hope you take a minute today to think about those who have served.

Here’s What I leaned yesterday.
Have you ever done one of those paint by number. You know, the ones that come with a board, usually with a very pale blue illustration on it with various sections of the illustration numbered to correspond with little pots of paint? You then paint in all the sections numbered #1 with the paint from pot #1, then sections #2 with paint #2 and so on. Until you finish with a completed painting.

I used to love paint by number as a kid, but to be honest I rarely finished any of them. I’d get maybe two thirds of the way through and get bored and never get back to them. I do remember one however, although it was actually a colour by number since you filled in the numbered blocks with markers instead of paint.

My brother had given it to me for Christmas when I was 10. It was a black velvet poster of the rock band Kiss. The same image as their Rock And Roll Over album cover. Now I wasn’t into the band Kiss but it was something to do. So shortly after Christmas I took out the markers and following the legend, coloured in all the appropriate spots with the matching colours.

Well, my Mom loved it. This masterpiece her 10 year old son created. So much so that she framed it and hung it in her sewing room. Now that may not sound like much of an honour but my mom lived for sewing and spent hours upon hours in that room.

Now you have to picture it. The room had a baby blue carpet with matching lace curtains over the window. White backed wallpaper with little blue flowers and butterflies intertwined amongst gold vines. On the walls were brass wall sconces with artificial flowers in shades of blue, white and yellow. And dead centre on the main wall was my black velvet and brightly coloured Kiss poster.

It ruined the look of the entire room but my Mom refused to take it down. No matter how many times I asked her to. I kept telling her that it wasn’t anything special. It wasn’t even my creation. All I did was follow a bunch of numbers the same way thousands of other people had done with their version of the poster. Not to mention that I didn’t even like the band.

It wasn’t until I was in college taking the graphic design program that I finally took it upon myself to replace it. I took it down and hung one of the paintings I made in my fine arts class. It was an ocean view with waves crashing on the beach. It wasn’t the nicest painting but it was mine. Something I had created myself. My Mom was upset when she found out I had thrown out the Kiss poster but she loved the new painting.

From time to time I think of that Kiss poster. How much my Mom loved it, because I had made it. How I had coloured in the various squares with such care and precision so that it turned out perfectly. Looking just like the picture on the package. What I think about is how uniform and controlled it was. I had followed exactly what I was supposed to do, like a drone, and I resented it for that. There was nothing special about that poster.

That’s probably the reason I never finished a paint by number. They were too constraining. I wanted to paint outside the lines. I wanted to mix up the colours, blend them and create something unique.

This is a metaphor for my life. I like variety. I chose a profession where every day is different. Even if I spend weeks working on the same type of projects, logos or websites, I’m guaranteed that they will be different enough to keep me interested and wanting more.

I don’t think I could stand being the type of person that gets up at the same time each day, drives to same route to the same coffee shop on the way to work, does the same job all day long before driving the same route home at the end of the day. Only to repeat it again tomorrow.

When life becomes routine like that it becomes boring, you become stagnant. And before you know it, life has passed you by and you don’t really have anything to show for it. Do you want to one day look back on your life and realize it was all one big endless loop?

Here’s what I learned.
Have you ever driven to your destination only to realize you don’t really remember the drive? That’s what I’m talking about. When something becomes so routine that you do it without event thinking about it. Where’s the fun in that?

I know too many people who go through life like drones, barely having to make decisions. Comfortable with the status quo. To me, they seem miserable. They may say they’re not, but I don’t see a passion for life in them. They need to change things up a bit. It doesn’t have to be drastic, just a little variety.

Back when I worked at the printing company there were at least six different routes I could take to get to work, and I rarely took the same route two days in a row.

I work from home now but I still like to mix things up. Some days I take the dogs for a walk first thing in the morning. Other day’s I go at lunch or mid afternoon and some days I wait until after dinner. It makes it more interesting for both me and my dogs.

Some mornings I grab a banana and get straight to work, others I take the time to cook up a big breakfast and sit to enjoy it.

I don’t always shop at the same grocery store. I find that if I always shop at the same one I become blind to everything on the shelves except the items I normally buy. But if I visit a different one each time, I end up looking around more and actually seeing the different foods and brands they each carry. This is how I’ve discovered many of the new foods I try.

I never want to get into a routine of doing the same thing or going to the same place over and over again to the point where it doesn’t even register in my mind.

I know it sounds silly, but mixing things up like this keeps you on your toes and adds variety to your life. And variety is what keeps us feeling young and adventurous.

Nobody wants to be a drone with blinders on. Someone that doesn’t see the world around them. Someone who just dips their paintbrush in a numbered pot and colours in the designated spots because that’s what they’re told to do.

Life shouldn’t be a paint by number. Mix things up and see what new colours you come up with. You and those around you will be grateful for the masterpiece you create.

I’m Mark Des Cotes and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.

I would love to know what you though of this episode. Share on our Facebook group at Facebook.com/groups/stuffilearnedyesterday. Join the conversation.

You can Follow Golden Spiral Media on Twitter at GSMPodcasts and Facebook.com/GoldenSpiralMedia. If you’ve enjoyed this episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday, I would be grateful if you’d leave a review in iTunes.

[sc:stuff]