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Measure twice, cut once

I hate to admit it, and I probably wouldn't if so many of my friends are...well, let's say that getting older and making stupid mistakes seems to be happening more frequently. Please note that I want you all to know that I, for one, have made stupid mistakes on many occasions throughout my life. But, okay, I admit it, I'm making more stupid mistakes now. My friends are making more mistakes.

And here's what I think. What I think is, we don't think. We're used to acting on certain things without giving those actions much thought because in the past they never seemed to require that "moment's pause." Even if we screwed up in the past we didn't fear it was a trend. We didn't think it would happen again. There was a confidence in what we did.

But the other day as a friend of mine made what she acknowledged was a stupid mistake and began to recount a series of them over the past few days which then prompted me to recall a series of my own stupid mistakes over the same past few days, it suddenly dawned on me that I can no longer take actions for granted. I can no longer do things without at least a moment's pause. A moment of conscious thought. It's not such a big thing. It doesn't take all that much extra time. I think it's more a matter of realizing this is something I need to do which means I can't operate the same way I did way back when.

Then I decided that it would have probably been a good thing throughout my life to have taken a moment's pause before acting on something or saying something only to realize I screwed up. I've misplaced my glasses, my keys, my purse...the list could go on and on...and, yes, that happens more frequently now, but had I paid a bit of attention to what I was going to say or where I put something, it would have always been a good thing.

I'm reminded of a tip a friend of mine gave me a few years ago that has truly been a godsend. I went over to her house to pick up some soup she had made me but I stayed to visit for awhile. She wanted to be sure I didn't forget to take the soup home and I told her with what was probably false assurance that I wouldn't forget it. She held out her hand. "Give me your car key". I gave her a puzzled look but gave the key to her. She promptly put my key in the fridge on top of the container of soup. Simple. Brilliant. I now do it all the time. I have everyone I know do it when there are things they have to take from my home. Young, old, it doesn't matter. It's a surefire reminder.

An extra moment. That's really all it takes. A bit of thought. A plan of action. Measure twice, cut once. It's not only a way of making sure about what you're doing. It'll save you/me so much time in the end.

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Comments

  1. oops, I think I deleted my comment. If I'm repeating myself, chalk it up to one of today's mistakes!!
    What I am thinking is that most of what you said so well was about human nature mistakes that plague us all. When I was sixteen, I would walk into a room and wonder what I had come in for...Now I don't know what room I went into!!!!!
    Heavier instances of thoughtless mistakes, to me, are things that insult or hurt friends or family. If we all thought of the other person/people's feelings and reactions, perhaps we would be more generous of thought!!!
    My post-party-em philosophy of the day. :>}

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