Does this happen at your house? The batch of fresh baked cookies are almost gone, expect for the very last one. Everyone leaves the last cookie because they don’t want to be the one to eat the last one. So it sits there until someone either tells someone else to eat it, or someone takes it in secret and no one knows who actually ate it. When we were teenagers this never happened. Now as adults it seems to happen more often. What is up with that?
Why leave the last one? Are we afraid to be the one who deprives others from this final treat? Are we avoiding the conflict that might ensue if everyone finds out we took it…eventhough we ate most of the batch? Or are we being self sacrificing so others can enjoy the cookie? We think we are being noble by giving up what we could freely consume. Maybe we have already had enough and it’s time for someone else to savor the flavor.
This cookie sat on our kitchen counter for two days. Everyone in the house walked by it, no one ate it. Finally, when a new batch had been baked this lonely fellow went the way of his compatriots- my husband ate it. He figured we needed the space for the new cookies to cool before being treats. I asked him why he didn’t eat it earlier and he said he figured someone else deserved it more. He had already eaten so many he wanted someone else to enjoy it. My husband danced around the last cookie thinking someone else wanted it, but he never asked….he assumed.
How many times in life do we miss out on an idea or opportunity due to our own internal thought processes? We think too hard and make assumptions, then never bother to talk to anyone to see if our assumptions are valid. We don’t apply for that art show figuring we won’t get in anyway. We do not apply for that job because we assume they already know who they want to hire. We don’t start that new venture because we think we will fail and we can’t bear to deal with that fear. Or we construe what someone is thinking or feeling and take action, the wrong action, and it makes things worse. All because we danced around asking the uncomfortable question. We think things through in our head instead of getting the opinion of someone else. The conflict we think and fear will come from asking the uncomfortable question prevents us from moving forward.
Today I challange you to ask the question you want to ask but are afraid to ask. It could be as simple as, “Do you want that last cookie?” Who knows, you may be the lucky recipient of the tasty morsel…or you may enjoy giving it to someone else and watching them enjoy it. Either way, you had the courage to ask the uncomfortable question and move forward without fear. Get out of yoru head and ask the question…you could get a yummy surprise.
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