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I had the opportunity this past summer to take a fabulous road trip with 6 of my female cousins. While driving along, one of my cousins started singing “The Ants Go Marching One by One.” That song absolutely drives me crazy and I almost got “hooked” into singing along and continuing to have that dreaded song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. It made me think about “hooks” and how we get hooked by other people into doing things we never planned to do.
Infomercials try to hook us into purchasing a product we don't need. Email and Social Networking hooks us into spending time we don’t have, to wander around our computer for endless hours. Co-workers attempt to hook us with their emotional behavior.
All around us, hooks are baited and waiting for us to take a bite. As a fish swimming along, we have a choice whether to take the bait, or swim on by. Once we take the bait, we are no longer in charge and at the mercy of what, or who hooks us.
When we are swimming along in our daily life, we must take control of our actions. As the flight attendants say when delivering the safety announcements, “Put your own oxygen mask first, before you assist others.” When others attempt to hook you by anger, playing the victim, being critical, trying to sell a product or service, fear, or whatever kind of racket they run, stop, put on your own oxygen mask first, and don’t take their bait.
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