How good are you at making trades with others? I have to admit that I’m a terrible negotiator in some circumstances. I just can’t stand the process, so I don’t bother. (I did, however, do a pretty good job of bartering while in China back in April.) However, when it comes to conjuring trades with myself, I’m pretty good at it.
For example, when I have a heavy load of things to do, it isn’t unusual for me to think of some way to reward myself at set intervals so that I have a break and a little fun along the way. When running around the 1.2 mile loop of the nearby park, I’ll reward myself with a walk between two lamp posts after I have jogged between several more than that.
This week with both of our vehicles being in the shop at some point and with me consequently taking the bus to work, I was reminded of how much I get done while riding the bus for those 20-25 minutes each way. I also like the fact that I save money because I’m not using gas and my company pays for employees to take the bus as an encouragement to reduce pollution.
One thing I like to do while riding is use an app on my smartphone to review my top 100 Bible verses that I’ve etched into my memory for the last several years. It’s a good way to start the day and to get myself in a healthy frame of mind before tackling the work day. So the thought came to mind this week that I could make a trade with myself. What would it be like to decide to ride the bus each week at least for as many days as it takes me to fully review those verses? It will likely only be 1-2 days per week of taking the bus, but the pleasure of driving my car and spending less time commuting would be the reward for the remainder of the week, having completed the review of verses early in the week.
I think I’ll give it a try and see what happens.
Leap year lesson #185 is Make yourself a trade.
Next Practices 