Do you know the saying, “Everything has an end… except the sausage, which has two”? Sometimes, sausages even have four ends. Why am I bringing this up? I was at Legoland with my two boys. Around lunchtime, we got a bit hungry and decided on sausages in a bun. Another guest was ahead of us in line, and I always use that time to read the name tag of the person behind the counter. This time, it said “Sandra.”
Then it was our turn, and I said, “Hello Sandra…” The usual first reaction is a look that says, “Do we know each other?”, which doesn’t throw me off—I know it’s coming. “We’d like two sausages in buns, please.” She smiled and got to work. Philip had his plain, and I had mine with ketchup and mustard. I paid, thanked her, and we walked away from the stand. As we both took our first bite and started enjoying our food, Philip looked at my bun and said, “Dad… you have two sausages.” I looked down and, under the half-eaten sausage, there was a second whole one. I smiled. “Looks like I got lucky.”
If you’ve been with me on this journey called life for a while, you know I don’t believe in luck. Everything happens for a reason and can—or will—be of benefit to us. The only real question is: What’s happening to you? And who’s in charge of that? There’s a great quote that fits here:
“People do not decide their futures. They decide their habits. And their habits decide their futures.”
F. M. Alexander
So, your habits today are responsible for your future. And if we take a step back in time, the habits you learned or adopted from others in the past are likely “to blame” for where you are now. Are you happy in the here and now? Yes? Then keep going just as you are. No? Then it’s time to consider which habits could help bring more happiness into your life. And feel free to swap the word “happiness” with love, money, success… whatever fits.
One of my own habits is addressing people by name in restaurants, supermarkets, and on ships. Why? Because in those places, they usually wear name tags. If it’s there, it has a purpose. You can actually see the human being behind the worker. I make use of that—and as we saw with Sandra, this habit even came with a bonus. What habits could help you build a better tomorrow and the day after that?
Later, after a few more hours in the park, we passed the sausage stand again. “Hang on a second,” I told the kids. I walked back over to Sandra, who didn’t have any customers at that moment. “Hi Sandra. I just wanted to thank you for the second sausage. That was really kind.” (I didn’t say “you didn’t have to”—because saying that would cancel future gifts from the universe.) She smiled. “You’re welcome. I hope you have a lovely day.” I wished her the same, and the three of us went on our way.
What a happy ending.
If you put respect out into the world, you get respect back. If you give kindness, you’ll receive kindness. Always? No. There’s not always an extra sausage in life. But as long as you don’t let other people’s gloomy moods become your own, it’s all good. Shine and spread good vibes as often as you can and want to. Whether anything comes back isn’t the goal. The goal is for you to enjoy your journey through life more. After all, you can’t control others anyway. Just be happy about your own positive nature.
