What If…Mixed Messages have Answers

Does this ever happen at your house? It’s time for 🍽dinner. I know- DINNER- Every. Single. Day. 🤦🏻‍♀️Still can’t get over it. Anyway, my husband asks what we’d like to eat. My daughter and I always have the same answer.

We’ll eat anything.👍🏻

How about 🥡Chinese food?

No- that doesn’t sound good.

We could grab 🍔burgers and fries?

Nope.

BBQ?

Nah.

So- what do you guys want?

Whatever is fine.😬

Honest to goodness- this happens several times a week! I bet Ken is relieved when we actually choose something! It shouldn’t be that difficult. All we have to do is choose a dang meal!

So, what is up with the mixed messages? 🤷🏻‍♀️Why do we say one thing when we mean another? Here’s the thing- we aren’t trying to give mixed messages. We mean it when we say that we don’t care what we have for dinner. That question is general, right? We know that we want to eat.✅ It’s when the question gets more specific that we actually have opinions. Now that we think about it, 🍕pizza doesn’t sound good.

Maybe it’s more a case of ambivalence. There are times that I really don’t care what we have for dinner until Ken mentions 🦞seafood. Enter the mixed message. I didn’t really mean that I didn’t care. I meant that I needed options because I didn’t have my own ideas.

Sometimes, mixed messages are simply a change in plans. It might sound like a good idea on Monday to have popcorn for dinner at the 🏀ballgame on Friday. Then, by Friday, I’ve had the 😤stress of about four months in one week. I want to curl up in sweatpants with a blanket on the couch. It wasn’t mixed messages. It was a new set of circumstances.

It’s a lot like learning. When we get new information, we may change our viewpoints and opinions. That’s a good thing.✨ That’s growth, not mixed messages. ✨It’s okay to shift when presented with new information. ✨It’s okay to add or subtract to original ideas. ✨It’s fine-tuning our thoughts. Tell me you’ve never learned new information that changed your mind. I know I have!

Mixed messages aren’t just happening at dinnertime. We hear about them on the 📺news and 📱social media. Friends and coworkers talk about mixed messages. Family questions them. Do we really know what’s real? Probably not. That’s why we listen and learn. What if…mixed messages have answers? Sift through information. Maybe you’ll decide your gut reaction was correct. Maybe- just maybe- you’ll hear something that makes you decide it’s time to change your mind.✨ The seafood might actually be a good choice for dinner after all.💖