Fortune Cookie Friday: Bad Checks

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures. 


Happy Friday, and Happy Day After Thanksgiving if you're in the US! Just how stuffed did we all get yesterday? I hope your holiday, if you celebrated, was nice! If you're going shopping today, have fun and stay safe! 

Now on to today's fortune cookie:

Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad check.

First of all, I love that I had a black ceramic spoon rest with sparkles in it that I could use as the backdrop for this fortune—looks like a universe a little bit, doesn't it? :)

Anyway—you can take this one literally, but I'd rather take it figuratively:

What bad checks are you writing in your life? 

I don't mean money, but let's use that as the jumping off point for a better understanding of our life practices. 

What is writing a bad check? It's paying for something with money you don't have, right? So let's take that one step further:

Are you spending energy you don't have on things that don't necessarily serve you? Are you burning the candle at both ends and running out of wick? Are you so busy that you don't know which way is up or who you even are, any more? Maybe you're a people pleaser who just can't say "no" to people, even though it's killing you to keep saying "yes," or maybe you're just lost because you're so busy you don't even stop to think about what you want.

To exacerbate these things, the holidays are upon us now, and it can be a really crazy time of year. Even the most zen person out there can feel the stress.

Remember to take time for yourself. There is no such thing as overdraft protection on our energy and well-being, so let those energetic reserves build up again. Additionally, if certain things no longer serve you in your life, it's okay to let them go. Whether it's bad habits, toxic people, or one too many hobbies, you have the power to make choices to spend your time, energy, and love on people, practices and things that you truly want to engage with.

It is possible to stop writing bad checks that deplete your well-being. Things don't change overnight, but with mindful practice in choosing who and what we spend our energy on, we can stop writing those bad checks and start balancing our account again. 

Anyway, just something to think about. As always, I want to know what YOU think about this fortune! Leave me a comment below! And if you want to have your fortune cookie featured, send me a clear photo of it through the Facebook page.

Have a great weekend! 💛🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

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Fortune Cookie Friday: Clarification

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures. 

Hello everyone! I hope you have had an amazing week!

I opened a new fortune cookie this week, and this is what it said: 

Owl-themed knitting done by me.

It's up to you to clarify.

Have you ever had a situation where it seemed like you were being misunderstood or that people were talking at cross-purposes? I know I have. Let me share a humorous example:

My husband and I have been together for 11 years, now, but we still occasionally get our signals crossed when it is time to go out together. For some reason, we don't manage to sync up, so we delay leaving the house. 

Let's say he's ready before I am, so he'll sit at the computer to do something while he waits. Then I'll finish getting ready, but see he's working on something, so I'll fold some laundry or do another chore while I wait for him. Meanwhile, he'll finish up what he was doing and observe that I'm folding laundry, so he'll start doing yet something else to pass the time until I'm ready. 

Do you see the major problem, here? Each of us was ready to go, but never actually communicated that to the other, so we just dragged it out! 🤣 

It's a crazy but cogent example of how we could have just clarified our intent. Saying "I am ready to leave now. Please let me know when you are ready," would have solved that problem easily, right?

There are other ways in which we can clarify, too. For example, if the words we are choosing are a) causing confusion or pain, or b) not being heard in the way that we intended, ~OR~ if we're on the receiving end of words that confuse or hurt us, let's make an effort to clarify. Communication is a two-way street, so if you're not sure what's being said, ask for clarification, and if you're not sure you were heard the way you'd intended, offer clarification. 

Sometimes, it's too late to do anything about it once words are spoken, and then you're stuck apologizing and explaining instead of having a productive interaction, so hopefully this can help avoid that whole mess to begin with. 

Finally, perhaps this fortune is advising us to seek clarity in all ways, right? Clarity of purpose; clarity of thought; clarity of intent; clarity of speech—if we set ourselves up with the right intent, have the thoughts clear in our minds, and know the purpose of what we're saying—THEN we speak—the better our chances of success, not just in communication, but in life. 

What are your thoughts about this? How else should we be clarifying? Let me know in the comments below! 👇

Hope you have a great weekend! 🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~