Sometimes, something very simple happens that reminds me not to make lazy assumptions.
I have a lovely dishwasher.
I treasure it because I really hate washing dishes.
I have no guilt about getting a machine to do something I could easily do myself even though it's just me and Kev in the house without a hoard of children most of the time.
But, occasionally, I’ll judge myself for huffing and puffing for having to empty the darn thing and put things away.
Usually, Kev and I have a pretty good routine for filling and emptying it. On the whole, we keep the kitchen pretty tidy.
Neither of us cope well with clutter.
Yet every so often, if the dishwasher is full, we’ll leave a bowl or cup on the side in the hope that the Magic Dishwasher Fairy will empty it before we need to put anything in it again.
I remember one particular morning I saw a cup on the side and I couldn’t be arsed to empty the dishwasher myself, so I put my own cup next to Kev’s dirty one and made a wish for the Magical Dishwasher Fairy.
Come mid morning, I took my second dirty cup of the day to the kitchen, and there was another of Kev’s cups on the side and no evidence of a visit from the MDF.
Surely they’d turn up soon!
At lunchtime, Kev and I grabbed some soup. We were both in a rush to get to our next calls after lunch, so neither of us had time to do the necessary clean up.
Things were starting to make me feel a bit scratchy but I had to let it go, and secretly hoped the MDF would swing by before the end of the day.
The MDF did not come.
Kev and I generally share the evening chores - I’ll cook and he clears up, but he was out that evening so I knew it would all land on me.
I really wasn’t relishing the extra time it was going to take me to empty the dishwasher then fill it up again after I’d cooked, but I knew I couldn’t leave it all overnight.
That would be a step too far!
So, I begrudgingly opened the door expecting the worst and DOH! it was completely empty inside!
Either of us could have opened the door at any point in the day to put stuff away but we both steered clear because we assumed the job would be more difficult than it was.
How can we apply this exceptional learning to your life?
Don’t make lazy assumptions - they’ll probably bite you on the arse in the end.
My own sloth-like attitude towards putting away clean dishes meant I ended up doing more work than I needed to in the end!
It’s like a modern-day Aesop’s fable - the Dishwasher and the Twat.
Don’t get caught like that yourself!