“Should I ask?” I wondered. 
One thing I know, for sure, is that my father loves ice-cream. He had been through a horrendous time of surgery and recovery so when his meal was delivered I wanted to get him some ice-cream to cheer him up.
The lady who delivered the meals was in a hurry and had loads of meals to deliver.
“I can’t really ask her” I decided.
Then I remembered something I’d learnt in May this year.
So I asked.
“I’ll have to go all the way downstairs and I still have all these meals to deliver”, she grumbled.
“Oh well, I tried” I thought and promptly dismissed the possibility.
Twenty minutes later she walked in with the ice-cream for my Dad. Yay!
That was all thanks to Ed Tate ( http://www.edtate.com/) – he was a speaker at a conference I attended, and one of the things he spoke about was asking for things you want. So often we feel uncomfortable to ask for what we want, for various reasons – so we don’t ask.
Ed says – “Don’t say no to yourself before they do.”
I’ve been practicing ever since.
It doesn’t always work – on Friday night we went to dinner with our three kids to a local restaurant. There was a huge TV in the corner.
Now I don’t know about you, but if there is a TV on in front of me, my eyes keep drifting to it, even if I don’t want to watch. It’s so distracting and frustrating.
My kids, as kids will do, reminded me about Ed Tate. So I asked.
I got a NO. They had a good reason to keep the TV on. The lights in the ceiling weren’t working – so the TV was providing light in the restaurant.
I didn’t win with that one. It also didn’t matter. What mattered was that I asked.
Yesterday we were at breakfast with friends, and my friend wanted something that wasn’t on the menu.
Naturally I told her about Ed Tate – so she asked.
She had to explain exactly what she wanted – croissant with cream cheese, rocket and fried baby tomatoes – it was a meal created from different options on the menu. She got it – exactly as requested!
Don’t say no to yourself before they do.
My challenge to you: Every time you want something during the next two weeks – ask for it. See what happens.
Let me know how it goes….
(Image by marc falardeau on Flickr)
