The confidence of a squeaky wheel…
It takes a lot of gusto to accept the fact that the shopping cart you have selected at the supermarket has an obnoxiously squeaky wheel and that you decide to keep using it anyway.
Most people walk five feet, hear the screetching rattle and turn right around to swap it for another cart. Nine times out of ten I would swap it too, sure its annoying but thats not the reason for the swap, the reason no one wants that damn thing is because it draws the attention of everyone in a 5 mile radius.
Today I was running around all over town doing errands, in the fastest time possible. All I wanted to do with my afternoon was finish up some homework and take a nap, but unless I wanted to brush my teeth with baking soda it was imperative that I go out.
My last stop of the day was the grocery store, list in hand, I headed through the parking lot and grabbed the first available shopping cart. I passed through the sliding glass doors, I was off. I was on a mission, which normally isnt my style when it comes to doing my grocery shopping, but today I had an agenda. I noticed that one of the wheels had a bit of a pull to it, which required a bit more force then usual, but I didnt mind. My heart skipped a beat when I realised that wasnt my carts only problem, it also had the dreaded SQUEAKY WHEEL. I thought to myself “just go”, so isle by isle people looked at me in horror, wondering what I must have done to that poor cart to induce such a horrid amount of shreaking.
It was then that I realized, a person needs to have a hell of a lot of self confidence to force an unwilling cart through a supermarket while it cries bloody murder.
I immediatly stood up taller, fixed my hair, held my shoulders back and my head up high. I made it look like I chose that cart specifically for its squeaky wheel. I “worked” that cart, up and down the isles beaming of confidence, and making that cart “look good”. People still looked but this time they were looking at me more then they were looking at the cart.
It was a very empowering experience and I higly suggest that the next time you get the cart with the squeaky wheel that insead of returning it, you keep it. Turn that uncomfortable situation into a fun, exhilarating celebration of the enjoyment that can be found in the lame experiences that life has to offer.