If You Really Want the Answer, Ask the Right Question

Do you ever bite off more than you can chew?

I do it all the time. You’d think I’d learn not to do that after so many times, but noooooooooo, not me. I keep doing it over and over again.

So why do I do that? I finally asked myself that question. Actually, I am just asking myself that question.

You know, earlier today, and I mean the day is just starting off at 2 AM. Earlier today, when I woke up and wrote my Morning Pages, it was all about asking the right question.

What happens when you ask the wrong question? You get the wrong answer, right? Wrong! You get the right answer to the wrong question. Really. So the trick is to ask the right question. How do you do that? I started by asking myself, is this what I really want to know?

I narrowed it down to the right question. Why is it that I am not living the life I really want to. The answer I got may surprise you, it surprised me. “Because you’re not.” Huh? or is it duh! Of course.

Damn, wrong question again. Did I just say damn? I did, didn’t I? and you know what? the world didn’t come to a screeching halt and I am still alive. Hallelujah! But, I digress.

The real question was “What do I need to do next in order to live the life I want to live? The answer was simple and clear. “Get on the computer and write! Stop making excuses.”

So, what do you do when you bite off more than you can chew? I normally chew it half ass (OMG he did it again) and swallow it, considering the other alternative is socially unappreciated, but I do spit it out occasionally. Which is the better of the two, but neither one is the right wise thing to do.

The wise thing to do would be to take your time and slowly chew it properly and go through the discomfort in the short run, to gain the proper benefit of what you bit off. And since we don’t normally do that, or in my case, never do that, at least thus far in recollectable memory, I don’t learn the lesson associated with the habit of bitting off more that I can chew.

So as I ask myself that question, why do I bite off more than I can chew, the answers are emerging.

First off, I know, instinctively, that I have the capacity and the capability of chewing bigger chunks, and therefore I bite it off.

Second, once I bite it off, I want to spit it out, something stops me. The reality is that it is my inner self telling me, no it is not too big, you can chew it. But, I ignore it and succumb to the perceived  appearance of “I am going to look like a fool sitting here chewing this thing for a loooooooong time”, so I swallow it. Then I can’t digest it properly, and it gives me a tummy ache, and makes me feel miserable. And, since misery loves company, I get on the spiral of self-sabotaging and destructive self talk. Not very smart!

Third, I am coming to terms with the fact that I am capable of more than I give myself credit for. I just need to slow down, and take the time to chew it, and not worry about making a donkey out of myself (ha, I didn’t say ass), because the truth is that I am doing that anyway.

So, here is the $64,000 question. “Why do they call it the $64,000 question?”

And, oh yeah, Do you bite off more than you can chew? and if so, what do you do next?

You can share your thoughts in the comments below, and pass it on to others to ponder and respond. What I am really saying is, I’d appreciate all the Tweets and Stumbles I can get.