In the excellent movie, “The Lego Movie,” Emmet would have you believe everything is Awesome. The movie even has a song about it.
The chorus of the terrific song is:
Everything is awesome
Everything is cool when you’re part of a team
Everything is awesome
When you’re living out a dream
Everywhere you go, you hear people use the word Awesome.
When greeted by people who ask, “How are you doing?” I always answer truthfully. So, I say lousy or terrible about one out of thirty times. I usually give a positive answer like fantastic, excellent, wonderful, or terrific.
Sometimes, I say awesome. But I’m trying to stop using the word awesome. Why? My friend, Tom Teckmeyer, has pointed out that he thinks the word awesome is overused and should be reserved for God. Like me, I’m sure Tom is a fan of Rich Mullins’s song, Awesome God.
The chorus of this beautiful song is (the song is only a chorus repeated over and over):
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God
Is Tom taking things too far? Should I be ignoring and not following his lead? I’ll let you be the judge.
I like that Tom’s point is that he has developed a standard and plans to live up to it. He will not use the word awesome unless he is talking about God.
People often don’t set standards for themselves or what they do.
So, I refuse to eat at McDonalds. I haven’t in about 30 years. Why? Did I have a bad experience?
It’s not one specific thing. At one point, I banned McDonald’s because the food was below my standards. I know I can do better if I wait longer or look a little further. Refusing to eat at McDonald’s is a self-confidence boost. I am saying to myself, “You can do better.”
You should do the same thing. I don’t care if you pick McDonalds or some other place to avoid. I encourage you to set a standard. Treat yourself as if you don’t need to settle.
Don’t worry about starving to death. Even in the most remote parts of the country, If you’re near a McDonald’s, you are within about 5-15 minutes of someplace else to eat. (To be honest, I don’t eat at Burger King or Wendy’s very often either. About once every ten years.)
I did the same thing when raising my children. They didn’t get to watch Barney. I was often asked why Barney was banned. What was objectional about Barney? Nothing specific. It wasn’t the message. I thought Barney was annoying and didn’t want it around me. We could find something else. I always figured I could do better as a parent. If I kept looking, I could find better, and we always did.
Please remember I’m not trying to convince you to live in my awesome free McDonalds-less Barney absent world. I am trying to get you to consider your minimum standards and set them. It could even save you money or time.