A happy couple once taught me one of the secrets to their successful relationship, and that is the concept of a “Do Over”. When one of them steps in it and wishes she had said it differently or perhaps said nothing at all, she simply says “Do Over”. He understands that that means all is forgotten as if it were never spoken in the first place, and they begin the conversation again.
In an interesting twist on this idea, I’ve seen couples use it to prevent tough spots from arising — one will say “Do Over” as they sense the other is doing or saying something that both will regret. Perhaps he is bringing up some old injustice that has nothing to do with the current situation…she might lovingly say “Do Over”, as a signal to him to let it go, that it’s not relevant now.
I recently came upon yet another way to use this brilliant concept when I read Mike Dooley’s quote, “Every day is a do over. You’re a forever being.” Isn’t that a fascinating way to apply this simple technique? When our life isn’t what we thought it might be; when we’re not as happy as we’d like to be; when we don’t experience as much peace as we know is possible, we can simply remember that we always have the opportunity to “do it over”.
In the game of life, there are no rules that say we can’t reset ourselves and start over. At any time, if we’ve lost our way or strayed from our heart’s path, we can stop and regroup, get in touch with our internal GPS, and begin again on a new path. Everything is possible, and knowing that is true freedom.
Is there anything you’d like to “Do Over”?
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