It’s December!

A new month, and a plethora of things to come these next thirty days. I’m going to the Philippines and Palawan this winter break and I’m really excited for it. I was planning to meet all the friends I made in Japan there.

But.

I have this one friend, who consistently flakes or misses his train or simply doesn’t show up. He’s on the association board in the prefecture and even then, he doesn’t follow through on his events despite being leadership (if he even follows through to make events, that is).

It’s frustrating because he is an intelligent, passionate guy yet completely unreliable. And his unreliability is his downfall. He doesn’t get things done and expects life to be forgiving. We think very similarly politically and want to spend our lives committed to public service and social justice. But I would have a hard time recommending him to work in the organizations I want be involved in because of his inability to get things done.

Unreliability can cripple the rest of your talents and your life, in short. You can be an amazing, ingenious, brilliant person. But if you don’t have your shit together, don’t expect to make a difference. Passion isn’t enough - you need the conviction to follow through. Stop making excuses and don’t expect to be handed a bone when you have nothing to show for your abilities. Be the good friend, the good partner, the advocate who’s always there when you need them. Being unreliable is a description that will stick with you, even long after you’ve changed.

Don’t let it happen. Be reliable.