Those of you who have been paying attention will notice a common theme going on the last week or two. A lot of things have centered around “credit”. It’s in my header, my side bar, a few posts…. So what is this “credit” thing I got going on.
Believe it or not, and I can’t personally believe it, it took me 11 years with Daddy and we’ll say 18 years of social interaction to “get” the way the world works. You wouldn’t think it would have been this difficult to learn but apparently I’ve either had other things on my mind or I’m a little slowwwww. Life would have been so much easier if I had understood the game I’ve been a part of but not actually playing. The game of “Credit”.
Here’s the way the game works. Listen closely if you’ve been having a horrible time interacting with the world and had no idea why. Everyone you interact with treats you very much like a credit card company. Some people are willing to loan you more credit then others, some will loan you credit based on what others have said about you, some won’t give you credit until you prove to them you are worth the risk.
As you do silly things, make mistakes, ask for too much, etc you subtract from the credit the individual has granted you. For example, say I make plans to meet a friend for dinner. For whatever I reason I don’t show up and don’t bother to call. I’ve just used some of my credit with my friend. They are likely to be annoyed but not necessarily willing to throw me under a bus (the result of no useable credit left with them). Do it to many times, burn to much credit and I may never get them to trust me again.
Now the good news is…just like credit card companies you can always get credit back and even earn more. For me, doing my job right, having a good attitude, not making silly comments IÂ know I shouldn’t say, etc earns me credit back. The longer I maintain this standard the longer my credit is good for. I can make a few mistakes without getting my head handed to me because I’ve been making constant payments towards my credit.
And like Discover sometimes you can even earn Frequent Flier miles just for being a good customer. Using your FFM with people means you aren’t subtracting from your credit AND you get to do something you want for free. You simply stop earning credit until your “reward” is over. Example: Say I worked like a dog today and I’m exhausted. I’m dying to lay down but sometimes asking for a nap will cost me credit. If I’ve maintained a good attitude and done my job right for a decent period of time, I’m more likely to get to lay down without expending credit.
See how easy this game is? And it applies to everyone in some measurement or another. I’ve done it at Karate for the longest time it makes me want to hit myself upside the head for not realizing the whole world works this way as well. Sometimes I just can’t face going to karate due to a headache or whatever. I always run through my head before I decide to stay home “Is it worth the credit to stay home? Do I have the credit to spend to stay home? Have I missed to many classes? Have I taught a lot lately? Have I been doing well with my exercises? Will staying home cost more then just sticking it out even if I don’t look good in class?”
Knowing the game makes life SO much easier I can’t even begin to explain how much calmer I feel about some of my relationships. I use to feel like I didn’t really know where I stood. Sometimes I felt like I was bumbling through my day not really knowing if I was gonna get in trouble. A lot of times I wondered when my last mistake was going to catch up with me. Sometimes I honestly couldn’t figure out why a small mistake like taking Daddy’s rings home without telling him so he wouldn’t forget them would get me seriously yelled at and why at other times I could forget his ATM card and would simply be told “You really need to check these things before we leave the house.” I’d been gambling with my credit without understanding the rules or knowing what I was gambling with.
So…that’s the game of “Credit”. Take a look at your life and see if knowing the game doesn’t help a little. 🙂