Do you fill your bowl?
In our culture, our instinct is to fill the bowl.
We’re used to having a coffee that nearly reaches the rim or a level of debt 
that’s just below our debt limit.
If we don’t want to risk spilling the hot coffee or be caught with not enough credit to handle an unexpected crisis, then, we can get a smaller bowl. It’s simple.
(And if we want to do more of something, the path is just as obvious!)
If we have our bank automatically siphon off $10 a week to savings, we’ll discover that our checking account balance doesn’t change so much.
And if we put a smaller scoop in the candy jar, we’ll take less every time!
Often, the real problem isn’t what we have, it’s how big our bowl is. That’s why they suggest that if you want to eat less, use smaller plates!
And we all know that we choose the size of the bowl as well as what goes in it! So depending on whether we want to spend less money or lose some weight, we can remember that it isn’t so much the wish or resolution to do it that will make it happen.
We can just choose to eat that elephant in smaller bites.
(or is it that frog we were supposed to eat?)
I really get that for me:
- scheduling less into my day,
- using a smaller scoop,
- putting that money in a savings account before I even see it,
means that at this time of life I choose a smaller bowl and experience the idea that “Less is indeed more.”
So, how big a bowl are YOU choosing for your life?
4 Comments
Jerry and I have indeed chosen a path that makes the to do list seem overwhelming. The way I am handling it is by making a page that has all the stuff that could be done on it and then selecting the few must dos for the day. I am able to see the big picture but am using a microscope for just the stuff to do today. At the end of the day I cross off from the big list the stuff that got done and the stuff that no longer needs doing. Now that some time has gone by we can see the progress we have made and can make better plans for getting the rest done, either by doing it ourselves, having someone else do it or deciding that it doesn’t need to be done at all. As Jerry and I recognize what we are capable of fitting in a day we have been shrinking the size of today’s to do bowl from the overwhelming to the doable. We have been blessed with an extension of time in which to get everything moved to the new place. And we are blessed with a mother who has greased the wheels and supported us in ways that we will never be able to thank her enough for.
Laurie, Congratulations on your and Jerry’s flexibility in determining what you can handle at any given time and what you want to prioritize on tomorrow’s list! And I’m a firm believer that writing things down makes them less intimidating! Maybe that’s a way to get a smaller bowl.
My daughter & I are constantly having conversations about want vs. need. She is a want person, I’m a need person. At this time in my life, I want simplicity. So I make as few plans, lists, schedules as possible. I just get up in the morning and judge how I feel before I decide what I want to do. Of course, there are exceptions, like Dr’s appointments, grocery shopping but if there is dust on the furniture and I am not feeling like it, I put it off. It will still be there tomorrow. So before I pick the size of a bowl, I check to see how hungry I am.
Mary Kay, Great idea to check on your hunger before picking the size of your bowl!