Early Bird: Can Ya Dig It?

Have you ever noticed that the early bird doesn’t always get the worm? Or, maybe she does, but then as the morning progresses, she finds they’re offering worms “two-for-one” down the street. I have prided myself on almost always being ahead of the game. Sure, sometimes it about kills me, but it’s just something that goes along with my mad organizational skills and my OCD tendencies. I don’t like to be late.

If I’m going somewhere new, I map out my route, find an alternate route, and, time allowed, will drive there beforehand to make sure I know where I’m going.

If there’s a call for volunteers and I’m equipped and willing, my hand shoots up first. I found early on, in a high school government class, that those judging your performance seem a bit more willing to overlook minor mistakes, gaffes, and nervousness from the first responders. Those judging you seem more willing to extend grace to those who volunteer first and reserve more harsh critiques for those who follow.

But as life continues, I find more and more often that the early bird sometimes gets shafted. Have you ever made a purchase and find out the store ran a sale the next week or even the next day? Yep, that’s the shaft of which I speak. Have you bought a new cell phone or computer or car only to see the new model rolled out weeks later? Enjoy the shaft.  How about volunteering to help out at work or church or school and then they announce more (read: better) assignments have opened up and they’re all exponentially better than what you’re in for? Shaftety-shaft.

Now that I’m seeing a pattern, you’d think maybe I would relax my approach, go with the flow, chillax a little, but that’s not my way. No, I’ll still make every effort to be first in line for whatever lies ahead, even it means risking getting the short end of the shaft.