I wasn’t expecting to like a TV show about sports so much, but the Ted Lasso series on Apple TV has thus far lived up to glowing recommendations from friends and family.
In the last few weeks, I keep finding myself coming back to the phrase “do the right thing” when faced with too many items on my to-do list, or too many choices to make, or so much stress I feel like I can’t see straight.
Sometimes, doing the right thing is just a matter of being considerate, like putting a grocery cart back in the cart corral or picking up a piece of litter. Other times the “right thing” means being willing to admit we’re at fault and apologizing, or acknowledging we’re at the end of our proverbial rope and need help.
It isn’t always easy, though. In fact, doing the right thing in a given situation might be the most difficult option on the table. It might mean leaving a job or a relationship or taking action that makes us uncomfortable or subjects us to negative consequences or criticism.
But doing the right thing is always … right; even when it’s scary, and even when there might be unpleasant consequences to get through.
When we feel overwhelmed by circumstances, “paralysis by analysis” is not uncommon. We can be so bombarded by demands on our time, intellect, energy and so on that we freeze up or bury our heads in the sand and try to pretend a problem doesn’t exist. Figuring out the “next right thing” we can do provides us with a way to move forward, to get unstuck, to improve.
On a positive note, every time we choose to do the right thing — those grocery carts come to mind again — it’s like building a muscle. Sure, you might be in a hurry, and maybe it’s raining, and other people have abandoned their carts… you could just ditch yours, too. But when you do the right thing in a simple situation, it will be easier to do the next right thing, even when it’s something more difficult.
Do the right thing. Even when it’s hard. You’ll be better for it and so will everyone else.
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
