OCD

2024-11-03

I have recently learned that I am somewhat OCD. Thankfully it doesn’t debility my life but it does manifest itself in interesting ways, I like things in boxes and drawers, I like things put away and out of eye sight, I like code uniformity and consistency. I thought this was all pretty normal but I realize that not everyone is like this.

But one thing that used to bother me much more than it does not, I have learned to get over it, is when you go to the microwave and there is time left on it. The previous person heated up something but decided to remove it early and did not clear the time from the memory. It is hard for me to understand why anyone would do this, a microwave’s natural state is no time remaining, all clear, so how could you walk away from it with time remaining? I believe in leaving things as you found them. If I go to someone else’s house and I use something of theirs, I will try to return in exactly as it was, if one of my sons played with a friends toys I will try to put the toys back as I found them, etc. It is an important part of my beliefs but again I am learning that not everyone has these same beliefs.

So I have shifted my a belief of mine so that I am not angry when ever I use the microwave: there is no natural state of the microwave and it is my duty to always clear the time before I use it. Just shifting this perspective slightly makes me feel better emotionally. Sometimes I do waste time and energy, clearing the time even when there is no time left on the microwave, but it is worth the peace of mind.

But if you ever use a microwave after me, best bet that all of the time has been cleared from it.