If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit – Life Coach Tip for the Determined You
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
I own a really cute pair of shoes that I wish fit me, but they don’t. They never have. I bought them knowing they were tight and thinking I could have them stretched to fit. Never mind that my baby toes were squeezed or that three toes were sticking out a little too far through the small open toe area. You have to understand, the shoes were so stylish, the two-toned colors matched several of my outfits, the price was reasonable, and I needed shoes to go with my outfit.
My desire to have what I wanted right then overshadowed my best decision barometer and put me in a followup series of bad decisions. The first was when I bought them. Then I went to the shoe store and paid to have the shoes stretched and rubber taps put on the bottom. I rushed the cobbler, as we were leaving for the weekend event the next day. I wore my pretty shoes around the house while I got ready for us to leave, telling myself they’d stretch some more. I brought along another plain pair of shoes just in case, though I was sure I wouldn’t need them.
An hour into the event had me hobbling a good distance to my hotel room in bare feet to change out these painful shoes for the comfy ones I’d brought along. I applied bandaids to give extra cushioning to my reddened baby toes. What a welcome relief, as I placed my wounded feet into shoes less squishy and then returned to the event having much less attention on my feet.
While trying to stay optimistic about the rushed feeling that always accompanies the end of the year, the feeling that there’s still lots to do and not enough time to get it done, money to make it happen, or energy to do it, your evil twin sister might emerge to complain, confuse and offer contradicting views. My inner “Griselda,” acerbically speaks at times and offers versions of the following 12 Days of Christmas. See if you see your evil twin in this…
It’s inevitable—there will be times when you open your mouth and out will pop something you recognize an instant later as something inappropriate. (“Hmmm – where did that come from, it’s not what I meant to say,” or worse, ”that came out terrible.”) I recently had lunch with a friend who had just shared how she’s in the Alchohol Anonymous program and as they proceeded to share other wonderful positive steps they’re taking in their life, I raised my water glass to toast them and said, ”I hadn’t known of your achievements beforehand or I could have been toasting you with champagne.” (Huh? Did I say that?)
Recently I was at the movie theater and afterwards went to the restroom. I walked into a bathroom stall and soon after I heard someone enter the stall next to me. She said, “Hi Laurie! It’s Patricia.” I was surprised someone had spotted me and replied aloud, “Oh, hello…which Patricia is this?” She replied, “Um-huh. Yeah, I can be there by 10:00.” I realized, sheepishly, that Patricia?whoever she was?was on the phone with someone else and wasn’t talking to me at all. Needless to say I scurried out of the restroom in case I was spotted as the woman talking to the wall.



