The Power of the Word 'NO'

I remember when my family first bought a microwave.  It was a beast.  The thing weighed more than our oven and an entire turkey could fit in there.  Ours was a Magic Chef sporting two giant dials and a loud bell sound when the timer finished buzzing.  I am pretty sure it was a warning sound due to the radioactive fallout left behind in its wake.  Once we came out of our bunker and threw back the heavy door we were thankful for the twenty minutes saved by the quick nuke.

It is now a dinosaur laying in a landfill somewhere completely intact (I am pretty sure it cannot be destroyed).  What still gets me after all this time is all of the accessories that vendors were selling.  They had food containers to microwave anything in.  There were containers shaped like eggs, potatoes, bacon and many more.  Everyone thought they needed a separate container for each job.  We know now that the microwave can do its job just fine without all of these extra items.  The Wii accessories remind me of these relics of yesteryear.

Do you have a lot of small commitments clamoring for your time.  Yes, you have gifts.  No, you do not have to do everything that comes along just because you are gifted in a certain area.  Your time is precious.  Free yourself up to do what you are truly passionate about.  A powerful word to have in your vocabulary is 'NO'.  You will save time and be more effective at what you do.  Isn't that why the microwave caught on in the first place?

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Are You Playing it Safe?

Many of us play it safe.  We frequent familiar restaurants, sit in our "normal" seats at church, get up at the same time each day, and socialize with a certain group of people.  It is our routine and it feels safe.

It is safe because of the predictability it brings.  What a curious bunch we are.  People will bash a movie or stop watching a television drama if it becomes too predictable (sitcoms are another story).  We like the element of surprise, but not in our personal lives.

I have seen people visibly upset when someone is in "their" seat.  If there is one person at a six seat table at the coffee shop, we will wait for a table to open up rather than break the ice with a stranger.  On the flip side we feel a sense of comfort when a server remembers our usual or how we like our coffee.

Predictable people can still have joy in their lives.  They are not miserable for staying in the familiar, but they rarely make a lasting impact on society.  Try to think of a predictable person who made a difference.  If you can think of anyone, such as the lady who wrestled the ammo out of the Arizona shooter's hand, then it was only for her moment of unpredictability.

Do something different.  Crawl out of the box and then burn it.  Sit in a different seat, meet someone new, and see life from a new perspective.  Have a dream?  What are you waiting for?  Is it on your bucket list?  Don't assume you have time.  Live your dreams now.  Eternity is next on the agenda and you only have one shot to give this world something it will never see again.  You!

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