I have no idea where the mind for this post came from but it’s after 11 pm, so roll with it.
Growing up, my family didn’t really buy sugary cereals or Lunchables – something, in hindsight, I’m very grateful for. I fell in love with Fiber 1 cereal when it looked like this:
And I was probably one of the only kids who genuinely enjoyed eating oatmeal for breakfast.
Nevertheless, it was still exciting when a friend brought Lunchables to the elementary school cafeteria – especially the pizza kind.
If it was a good friend, my classmates would be as bold as to ask for an entire pizza – essentially one third of the 3rd graders meal. Sometimes, they’d be successful in their ask – particularly if elementary school crushes were involved.
But I had a different tactic. I knew how to win over the envied student in the cafeteria.
I asked for one piece of cheese.
And I got it.
The next day, when my friend came to school toting cosmic brownies, I would place my eyes on one sprinkle.
The orange one. In the corner. Thanks.
And I always got my sprinkle.
I was thinking about the One Sprinkle Theory the other day when I realized that as an 8-year-old, I was totally justified…and I’d go as far as to say that the brazen actions of the punky 8-year-olds who asked for a whole pizza were uncalled for, even selfish. But we’re talking a cafeteria with trays older than our grandparents and lunchroom monitors who cannot possibly care about the bartering happening amongst the tables between Snickers and Skittles and Sea Salt Chips.
So maybe 8-year-old Liz had the right idea. Shoot low. It’s only a Cosmic Brownie.
But I’m 22 now and life has progressed way past the stage of sticky floors and Styrofoam lunch trays. And I want more than a Sprinkle. I want the whole brownie.
I think we frequently stop ourselves from articulating what we really want – whether in our relationships, our jobs, our personal lives. But if all we ask for is what we know we’ll get, we will never know how much we can have.
If you spend your life being satisfied with a sliver of fake cheese when you really want the whole processed pizza, then you have done yourself a terrible disservice.
It’s okay to want – but want the right things.
Want more adventure. Want more love. Want more down time. Want more support. Want more fun and want more care. Want more friendship with people who build you up.
Want more than what you have and then ask for it. Put in the time. Stand behind your work.
You never know what you can get unless you ask.
So ask. Ask big and loud and confidently.
Chances are, you’re worth more than a Cosmic Brownie Sprinkle.
Love always,
Liz