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My mother used to say:  “If you make your bed, then you have to lie in it.”  As a result of this upbringing, I am a bit of a product of “Calvinism”. I tend to think that good things won’t last and I always wait for the other shoe to drop.   Friends would say I am a glass half empty kind of person.  (Am I using to many metaphors?) My great fortune in life is that my better half lives life with such optimism and positivity it is almost sickening.  (OK, enough with the metaphors except for the morale of this tale.)  This is a story about peanut butter.

I don’t really like peanut butter very much and it is extremely expensive here in Europe.  I like to bring back a 1k plastic jar of Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter whenever I make a trip home to Canada. The kids like it and it comes in handy for  toast of a quick sandwich when nothing else seems to be available. I have been known to hoard it by storing it as far back in the cupboards as possible.  Good think is that it lasts a long time. There really is no immediate expiry date.

I have heard that peanut butter is excellent at getting gum out of hair.  So far I only know this from anecdotes and not first hand experience.  But for hiccups; this I do know.

I don’t get hiccups very often and when I do, usually holding my breath works.  Once in a blue moon it doesn’t and the hiccups continue until it starts hurting in my chest.  Then the best and quickest and surest way to stop it is to eat a soup spoon of peanut butter.  Instant relief.  Then I wonder why I didn’t get up and use it earlier.  Why did I have to suffer when I didn’t need to?  Do I think that I need to make things harder for myself?

Nike has it right with “Just Do It.” But this post is more than simply about getting up and stop procrastinating.  Sometimes we procrastinate because we make it so difficult for ourselves.  Sometimes the answers or actions are pretty simple. Like a previous post of mine: If you want to be a more effective leader start by being polite and courteous.

So here are the lessons that I have learned from keeping peanut butter in the house:

• Sometimes solutions are easy – we just don’t bother thinking the problem will go away. It usually doesn’t.
• Don’t overuse something just because it feels right.  Moderation.  But don’t hoard your resources either – people will begin to resent it and sneak around behind your back.
• If it is a limited resource – explain why it is important that usage is tracked and monitored. Make it clear that it is not about not trusting others.
• Using comfort food when we understand the purpose is not glossing over.  In real life, be consider and sincere. Say thank you.
• Celebrate when the problem is fixed.  Treat yourselves with another tablespoon of  . . . (fill in your own preferred choice.)

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