Recently, I arrived at the airport early for an eight-hour flight. Even though I wasn’t particularly hungry, I bought a large burrito and ate every bite.  As I sat waiting to board the airplane I wondered why I did that.

I soon realized that, because I didn’t trust the airline food, I was “pre-eating.” I also realized that this is part of a bigger pattern in my life. I often eat “a little more” for breakfast, just in case lunch is late, and “a little more” for lunch because dinner is such a long way off.  Then I eat “a little more” at dinner because I enjoy the food and also because, when I was young, my father allowed only positive talk at the dinner table.  That meant it was a safe place to indulge myself.

Before this insight I had never consciously realized that my family’s “depression mentality” around food (there may not be enough at the next meal), combined with my assumption that I should never, ever feel hungry, even for an hour or two, were shaping my current eating habits.

Darn!

I know we need to establish habits to live a productive life.  I fully stop at a “Stop” sign, I take the same pills at the same time each morning, and I have a smile on my face most of the time to encourage positive encounters.  But some habits are unconscious and not productive, or may have outlived their usefulness. (I no longer use a kitchen ladder to climb up onto the counter.)

With food I’m pretty good at avoiding “post-eating.”  When I put my knife and fork down on my plate, I’ve finished that meal.  When I decide, in advance, “no desert,” I usually stick to my decision.

Now I’m going to work on eliminating my previously unconscious “pre-eating” habit. I’ll also remind myself that it’s perfectly okay to be hungry for a few hours – although I’ll probably not start completely trusting airline food anytime soon.

That’s it for now.  I’m not going to start wondering why I wait until the last minute every week to write my blog.

Alan

Raise your hand if you have ever tried to buy anything online, or in a store for that matter, and given up because the line was too long or the process too difficult.

I see a lot of raised hands.  And yet, wasn’t that the initial secret of Amazon’s success?  It was fast, convenient and easy to use.

I still remember sitting in a poetry class in the late 1990’s when the teacher asked us to buy books by a variety of poets.  “Some of these books may be difficult to find,” he said.

“Why not order them on Amazon?” I said.

“What’s an ‘Amazon’?” he said.

Believe it or not there was a time when Amazon, the company, was little known.  Amazon didn’t sell its first product, books, to the public until July, 1995.  I used to shop in bookstores often, but I found Amazon much easier to use.  Just a few clicks separated me from virtually any book I wanted. And then they arrived at my desk a few days later.  The Amazon web site was easy to understand and easy to use.  That’s why it appealed to me then, and why it appeals to me now.  There’s a lot to be said for instant (or at least quick and easy) gratification.

So why not rip a crucial page out of the Amazon playbook.  Whenever you want someone else to do something for you, make it easy for them.

If I wanted my father to attend a play with me, all I had to do was to tell him I would buy the tickets and pick him up.  If I want to have lunch with you I might offer to pick you up and take you to your favorite restaurant, my treat.

In short, lay out a road that is attractive and an easy downhill coast for me, rather than one full of potholes that is steep and arduous.

Now that I think about it, I’m going to use that technique more often – on myself.

Alan

When I was ten years old my mother picked me up early from a friend’s birthday party.

“Dad has to work late,” she said, “and we bought two tickets to a musical so I’m taking you.”

I didn’t know what a musical was, but I was happy to be going somewhere with my mom.

Our seats were in the last row of the gallery, far above the stage.  Even at that distance, I was transfixed by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza performing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

One of the songs. “Happy Talk,” resonates within me to this day. It ends with four memorable and catchy lines:

“Happy talk

“keep talkin’ happy talk

“If you don’t talk happy and you never have a dream

“Then you’ll never have a dream come true!”

I’ve always talked to myself, partly consciously but mostly unconsciously.  As a rule I believe what I say.  Since I can only trust others to the extent I trust myself, I’ve become rather careful in what I say, especially to myself.

As an entrepreneur and writer I’m always certain I can solve any business or writing problem that arises.  Even though I’m not always correct about this, I start by telling myself “I can” simply because my words of self-encouragement make a positive outcome more likely.

A former president of the United States campaigned on the slogan, “Yes we can.”

That’s an excellent place to begin. Today, as we return from our Labor Day weekend that marks the end of summer, let’s renew ourselves and face the future with the words, “Yes, I can.”

Happy talk — a great way to start the rest of our year.  We’re going to solve all of our problems and have fun doing it.

Alan