Swimming Upstream with Coffee and Tape

Have you ever felt like you were swimming upstream?

Have you ever suddenly realized that you were doing things the hard way when there was an easier way you never noticed before?

The Tape Incident

Many years ago, I worked as a Customer Service Rep at a small retail store. The Sales Reps were out in the field all day, and I would take messages for them. Since we had no Post-It notes, I would use a small piece of tape to attach them to the outside of their mail bins that hung on the wall.

Most of the Sales Reps would come in, grab the note from the bottom, and pull up to remove the note. This was the obvious and easy way to remove the note. But one woman came in and mumbled under her breath as she struggled to peel the tape from the top. I was on the phone, so I could not say anything or show her the easier way to remove the note. She did this a few times. And I had to wonder why she was doing it that way, when it was so obvious that it was easier to pull form the bottom where it wasn't attached, and the tape would come off with the note. At the first chance I had, I showed her the easier way to do this.

As I puzzled over why she would choose such a difficult method, I had to wonder where in life I was doing the same thing. Where in life was I doing things in a way that was obvious to everyone else, but I just didn't see that easier way? I was sure that this was the case, and I can think of several examples. Sometimes I am just out of step.

The Coffee Incident

For example, I was in my 20s, I would go to work, sit down at my desk, and start working. One day

when I'd been working there about 5 years, the boss said they would start providing bagels in the break room before work, and there was a new toaster there. I was on it! I went to the break room, and everyone was there. Apparently they gathered every morning before work to have coffee. Since I wasn't a coffee drinker, I had never gone in the break room, which was at the other end of the building from my office. I had been missing out on a whole social interaction every day because I didn't drink coffee, and it had never occurred to me that everyone else did and would be in the break room every morning.

There are so many other examples! And as I become more mindful and clear the clutter in my awareness, I am sure that I will continue to discover more. I hope so. It means that I am learning, unfolding, and growing in awareness.

How about you?

What big or small Aha have you had?
Please share you comments below. I'd love to learn form you!