The other day I had to change the locks for my office. I had to fire an employee which is never easy( no matter what Donald Trump says). Later that day I had to do the time honored task of changing the locks. Well one of my locks needed re-keying so I took it to the local locksmith. When I arrived there she stated that it would be ten dollars to re-key the lock. Seemed a reasonable price, so I took out the lock and set it on the counter. After inspecting the lock for a minute she informed me that it was a "magic lock". She then told me that this lock was very easy to re-key with a special tool the lock company made. I could go to any hardware store, buy the tool, and do it myself for less than a dollar. But, she said, since I was already there she still had to charge me the ten bucks for fixing it.
Was I being taken advantage of? I don't think so. Was I really paying for her time, or for her experience and knowledge? I say the second. There was no way I would have known that it was a magic lock if I didn't see her in the first place. Secondly, because it was so easy to fix, I was able to leave the store in half the time it would have taken otherwise.
So many times we think that if we pay more, we should get more. The challenge is our definition of more. In this scenario I did get more. I got more time, time I didn't have to spend in her shop. Time that I could now could spend anyway I wanted. Time is the only thing that once spent, we can never get back. So it was a nice gift she gave me.
Changing our perspective changes our level of stress. We must learn to manage our expectations if we are to operate in life happily, joyfully and with less stress.
Next time you feel you are getting short changed, think about what you might be gaining in the interaction. You might be surprised that you are really getting back more than you thought.
Til next time.
Wishing you the best,
Dr. John Zipp
Changing our perspective changes our level of stress. We must learn to manage our expectations if we are to operate in life happily, joyfully and with less stress.
Next time you feel you are getting short changed, think about what you might be gaining in the interaction. You might be surprised that you are really getting back more than you thought.
Til next time.
Wishing you the best,
Dr. John Zipp
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