My dad used to love the TV show "Columbo." He was rarely home, but the unusual intersection of his being home and the show playing meant he was likely to watch it. Lately, several cable channels have been playing Columbo marathons. Occasionally it is on two different channels simultaneously.
If I may take a moment to talk about the show before my rant today, I think Peter Falk offered an amazing performance as the “disarming detective.” I enjoy watching his face as he is talking to a potential suspect (whom he has already suspected from the moment he arrived) and a phrase or word choice piques his curiosity. You can only briefly detect his victory knowing “I gotcha.” He was cunning, intuitive, intrepid, and charming.
I recently read that his catchphrase “Oh just one more thing” was contributed to what the writers called “lazy writing.” In one of the first episodes, they had the act and scene mapped out and the dialogue set in place. The timing of the scene was established. But as the page was put to rest, one of the writers discovered that a crucial piece of information could have been obtained during that exchange. Instead of rewriting the entire scene and changing the pace of the dialogue, they simply made Columbo get nearly out the door before adding one more question. This lazy piece of writing became a trope known throughout the entire series. There is even a sales technique called the Columbo Close, where you add one last question or piece of information if you feel your prospect is about to shut the door.
But how does “One more thing” appear in our “regular” lives, and how can we apply “One more thing” to how we address life itself?
There is always something more to do
In whatever endeavor you are undertaking, whatever project you are working through, there is always something more to do. Are you the best writer, musician, artist, woodworker, creator? Then you have more to do. When you have finished one project, there is always another project upon which to embark. My daughter has recently taken up crochet. She makes plush animals with crochet, stuffing them with batting. For Father’s Day she made me a turtle, knowing that the turtle is my spirit animal. It even has a Yin-Yang on its back. She’s exceptional. Once she was finished, she began several projects for her coworkers, making decent coin in the process. For her, there’s always something more to do. More challenges, tougher projects. She will eventually open an Etsy Store and have a lucrative side hustle.
Are you looking for something more to do? Do you have a side hustle? Have you found a hobby that excites your curiosity and ignites your creative fires?
Life is no fun doing nothing
Sure, each one of us needs a moment or two (each year) that we do nothing. “Toes in the sand and drink in the hand.” It is a reward for so much hard work, or a chance to destress. This weekend I plan to do nothing. I’ve just finished 8 weeks of police training for the Indiana University Police Department. Next week I will go to the 4-12 shift. I also finished two years of school at Ivy Tech in Therapeutic Massage. These last two months have been daunting and exhausting. I plan to make a homemade pizza and have a drink. My goal is to sit on my ample ass and do zilch. Next week, I will start taking clients again during the daytime hours and going to work in the evenings. But this weekend, I plan to sit back and relax.
These times are deserved. We need them to recharge the batteries. If we don’t get these times, we will become sick and then be forced to step away. And we’ll feel like a dumpster fire while we’re doing it.
But there are some people who do nothing all day. I would encounter those people frequently when I worked third shift as a policeman. My schedule was four-on and two-off, and it was not uncommon to go three rotations before meeting someone with a job. I don’t understand how an able bodied person can sit on the couch all day and do nothing. I know a guy with no fingers on one hand (tragic factory accident) who never missed a day of work. I went to massage school with a blind guy, who brought his service dog to class. I know stay-at-home moms who work circles around most CEOs, and those ladies don’t get days off from being a mom. My own wife can attest. She homeschooled our three kids while I worked five jobs to bring the bacon. There is a difference between doing nothing all day every day and earning time to relax and recharge. Take time to relax. There’s always more thing to do.
Don’t identify as your profession
I know some people who ARE their jobs. This happens frequently in law enforcement. I know some cops who, if cut, would bleed blue. They were law enforcement 24 hrs. a day. Then they retire. Suddenly, their identity is gone. They aren’t cops, so what are they? These guys sit on the couch, crack a cold one, and they are dead in two years. I’ve witnessed this in my clients as well. They identify as their profession and have little else. No hobbies or outside interests, no plans for vacations or travel. They will continue to work until they die. Some of my clients are still working at 70, and can barely do the work anymore, but don’t know what else to do if they quit. You are not your profession.
If you think for one minute you are irreplaceable at work, just go to a retirement party at your office. Cake and punch and all that. (I honestly cant get that birthday cake scene from 'Office Space' out of my head while write this) Then note how long it takes before that job is filled, or all those duties are given to two or three different people at the office because the company doesn’t want to spend the money on salary and benefits for a replacement. YOU will do that work. Within a week, I’m sure. What do you think will happen when YOU retire. (I’m sure the company will shut down, lol) When I retired from the Police Department as a Financial Crimes Detective, my desk was occupied the next afternoon. Be something else, be something better. Be the person who GOES to work, not who IS their work.
Always have something to do, or you will have nothing to do
Someone told me long ago that if you have no reason to get up tomorrow, you won’t. Always have something to do. Water and weed the garden, finish sanding that woodworking project, paint the back door, start yoga or Tai Chi, trim a little on your Bonsai tree, whatever. I am a Freemason and as such I give numerous lectures during the degrees we host for new petitioners. Many of us quite enjoy performing our lectures and playing our parts. Many of the older gentlemen (even older than I, lol) are long retired and visit several lodges each week just to hang out with the men and assist with lectures. It gives them a reason to get up each morning. When I finally retire, I will likely feel the same way. Have a reason to get up every day, or you won’t. If you stop doing, you start dying.
There’s always more personal work to do
When working on our personal and spiritual growth, there’s always one more thing to discover or resolve. It’s like peeling an onion. Every discovery you make and every inch of ground you cover, there’s more yet to do. Anyone who thinks they’ve reached the end of their spiritual journey or has solved all their deeper issues will soon experience a rude awakening. And then another awakening, followed by yet another. Like the kid trying to dig to China, the hole gets deeper and deeper, and it seems there’s so much more digging to do. There’s always one more thing. Once you’ve figured out that you are triggered by feelings of jealousy when you meet someone you feel has more or has done more than you, you will continue to meet those kinds of people until you realize that they, deep down, have their own hangups and insecurities as well. There’s always one more thing.
Keep doing one more thing. Keep in mind that there is always one more thing. Look at life like Lt. Columbo, always trying to figure out how all the pieces meet to form one coherent story of the truth. Arrive at your truth by always searching for just one more thing. Wake up tomorrow knowing that you want to do one more thing.
And do it.
Then wake up the next day and do one more thing.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Holistic Health Practitioner, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He combines bodywork, energy work, and coaching to relieve anxiety and depression. Joe encourages his clients to drop the white flag of victimhood and pick up the banner of empowerment. He inspires people to stop riding in life’s trunk and start sitting in the driver’s seat of destiny.
Weeg sells herbal products by Nature’s Sunshine and Pure Herbs Ltd. and is a Representative for Juice Plus. Weeg teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.
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