The 2-Pack TP Epiphany: Abandon "No Hope" Behaviours

Nov 29

Hand drawn graphic of no hope behaviours and a face in a large arrow

For 8 years in high school and university I worked part-time at a grocery store. Most of the job was spent working in the produce department but I spent time in pretty much every department in the store.

One of my jobs was as a cashier which happened when the store got busy. I have a vivid and rather odd memory of one particular experience on cash and I can count on one hand the number of times it happened.

What is this memory ?

A customer placing a 2-pack of toilet paper on the conveyor belt.

As I ring in their 2-pack and place it in the grocery bag, I’m thinking to myself, "Really, a 2-pack ? Is life that bad that you can’t see beyond 2 rolls of toilet paper ? Have you no hope ?"

As I think back, it sounds terrible to think I was so judgemental equating a 2-pack of TP with no hope. In reality, I was a teen looking for the funny—unfortunately at someone else’s expense.

Fortunately, I never said anything out loud (and didn’t speak of this for decades) because I knew deep down there was a very practical reason for buying the 2-pack. Maybe 2 rolls is all they could afford. Maybe they didn’t have the storage space in a garage for a 96-pack of double rolls. Whatever. Who am I to judge ?

Setting the judgement lesson aside, there is a not so obvious lesson buried here. Carrying this memory in silence for so many years drove me to become aware of my "no hope behaviours" and put an end to them. "No hope behaviours" are motivated out of fear and not out of a sense of abundance (i.e. gratitude).

For me, it was behaviours like:

being cheap with my charitable giving
doing work for any price
doing work that drained energy from me because I didn’t want to hire someone
not investing in our future
being a stingy tipper
over-working to the detriment of my family
worrying about why I’m not as successful as other speakers or consultants - especially those who’ve been at it for less time than me
not making referrals to other speakers and consultants

and then there’s one behaviour I still have not fully overcome (I’m sure there’s more but this is one I’m aware of and working on):

not telling the truth because I so deeply want to be liked by others

Enough about me.

So for you, to avoid being defined by the toilet paper 2-pack, you can make a comprehensive list, or better still, why don’t you work on your most pressing "no hope behaviour" ?

Simply identify it and then set a goal—answer these two questions:

What is your top "no hope behaviour" ?
When are you going to abandon this behaviour ?

Feel free to share your top "no hope behaviour" in the comments—you’ll find it quite liberating.

And if you need some support changing your behaviour, book a 30 minute call and we'll get you on a 30 day plan for change - access our calendar to book your time now.