This year I am going to try to eliminate or limit drastically the number of times I use the phrase could you. It occurs to me that I way too often expect others to jump up and get me something or do something for me when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Heck, I may even make it my diet plan. Jumping up myself could be better than sitting on the couch expecting others to do for me. Why am I allowing them to get all the exercise that I so desperately need?
The other side of that is that I am going to stop jumping up for others who ask me too often could you……. In always being willing to do what they could easily do for themselves I am depriving them of independence as well as entitling them. No wonder their expectations are for me to do for them. When I am always responding by answering their could you even when they can easily do for themselves. Maybe I can give others the chance for calorie burning.
It isn’t that any of us are lazy exactly. We just get into a bad habit of asking others rather than doing for ourselves. Any habit takes intention commitment to break. So I am going to try to be more aware of how often I use or respond to this phrase in my day. Perhaps I won’t eliminate it but hopefully I can drastically reduce it. When I do utter these words, I hope to include a please at the end. Or maybe I change it to would you mind….Nope that feels like trading one bad practice for another.
Of course I will continue to ask Ronnie B for help opening jars and getting things from the top shelf. Wait. I have a stool right by the refrigerator and a jar opener in the top drawer. Guess I really do need help becoming independent even in my kitchen. Remember when our kids were young and gaining independence? Cameron’s favorite phrase was I do it myself. Guess it is true that we should approach life as children. This is going to be my new attitude if I can do it myself so can you. Let’s challenge each other. What do you say?
In Him,
Joyful
1229-22
No comments:
Post a Comment