I recently saw a great cartoon that didn’t make me laugh or even smile. How can that be? Great cartoons always make you laugh out loud or at least chuckle a little inside. At the very least, they make your face break out in a smile.
Not this one.
This particular cartoon simply made me think and think hard.
In the cartoon, you see George Washington as a little boy. The future Father of our Country is standing with an ax in his little hand and a once beautiful cherry tree on the ground…. the deed, done. Apparently little George has already made his admission of guilt – you know, something along the lines of, “I cannot tell a lie. I did if, father.”
His obviously frustrated father says, “All right, so you admit it! You always admit it! The question is when are you going to stop doing it?”
Le Sigh.
How many of us could star in our own comic strip? Maybe instead of an ax and a fallen cherry tree we have a napkin and a Big Mac. As we wipe our mouth we tell our bathroom scales, “I cannot lie. I ate the whole thing – hundreds upon hundreds of wasted calories.” To which our scales reply, “All right, so you admit it! You always admit it! The question is when are you going to stop doing it?”
Oh, there are other areas of our lives where this same scenario could apply:
- Financial carelessness
- Bad habits
- Negative thoughts
- Poor anger management
- Dishonesty
- Laziness
- Procrastination
- Gossiping
- And on and on…
The parent who overreacts to a small child’s infraction only to admit, later that day, that they were way out of line. Their temper got the better of them, yadda yadda yadda. Like little George, admitting a mistake is well and good – it puts the individual in a small minority of “super cool” people.
However, when they’re able to learn from their mistakes (rather than simply repeat them) they experience the much-coveted self growth and the much-hyped self improvement. That’s the point they begin to change their life, as well as themselves, for the better.
I’m sure each one of us had at least one thing in mind when we read the father’s response. Let this scenario resonate in your mind for the rest of the day. Replay it in your mind the next time “it” happens and see if you can come up with an answer to the question, “All right, so you admit it! You always admit it! The question is when are you going to stop doing it?“
Steve Thomas says
August 21, 2010 at 1:25 pmA great thought! So many times we admit our faults, we see the problem, we recognize where we went wrong, and then nothing happens! We just go back to the same old behavior an nothing changes!
joi says
August 22, 2010 at 8:10 amSteve – So true! If we could all get our heads around that truth, we’d be so much better off. I got to thinking after I published the post – I am horrible about this sort of thing when it comes to money! I overspend at the store, then regret it. Happens every time. If I could only think about the regret BEFORE I put too much stuff into the cart!!!
Enick says
August 22, 2010 at 10:01 amVery good read. At first this post seemed somewhat comical. As time went one I started to look at myself and feel the guilt you spot of. I started to think, “I look great and I’m in awesome shape. I can like crap every now and then and get away with it. No one has to know but me. Right?”. Awesome concept.
I just started my blog. Hopefully you can give me some feedback. You’re a little more experienced at this stuff. I have a post on self image that awesome. http://exapingthebox.blogspot.com
Enick says
August 22, 2010 at 10:10 amFirst off, is there any better way to fallow your work. It’s wonderful. I even read this and started feeling guilty to the point of making excuses about my eating habbits. I like crappy food sometimes because well it tastes better darn it.
Any ways I just started a blog. It’s on Self Image. check it out and leave a comment. If you’d like we can follow each other and you can help me learn more about this whole blog stuff. http://exapingthebox.blogspot.com
Enick says
August 22, 2010 at 10:11 amSorry for sending two. I kind of suck at this stuff. I told you I was new.
joi says
August 22, 2010 at 11:02 amEnick, Thanks so much for the kind words and positive feedback. Please don’t apologize for the number of comments left – when the words are so very valuable, feel free to post as many as you like!
I’ll be honored to take a look at your blog – it’s very exciting to start out in such a wonderful field. It can get overwhelming sometimes but the trick is to just stay at it! I’ve written a lot of posts on Self Help Daily about blogging – you can find them by clicking the following link (http://www.selfhelpdaily.com/category/self-help/blogging/). Best of luck and I’ll definitely check out your site.
Do you have a twitter account? That’s a great way to follow one another – as well as signing up for e-mail updates. Twitter, in my opinion however, is the best of the best. Thanks again, Enick, and best wishes!!
Issy says
January 23, 2011 at 6:17 pmThere are thing that we sometimes do and regret afterward. And I usually experience it during some fights with my hubby and when I go to shop and just bought something that I actually don’t need. I have to change it before it becomes a habit.