The Grasshopper offered this over the weekend: “There are no surprises, only reality.”

I had to mull that one over a bit before I could garner any insight.

“I’ve been surprised, so there are surprises in my world” was my first thought. Then it hit me that “surprises” are just interpretations of reality. Just like “good news” or “bad news” are interpretations of reality.

Every moment is made up of reality and reality contains every interpretation – including surprises.

It should come as no surprise that reality will visit every moment and many of those moments will contain what we call surprises. But we tend to deny that reality when we make declarations that defy reality.

“I’m never going to cut myself again.” “I’ve had my last mosquito bite.” “I can eat just one Lays potato chip.”

Then we act surprised when we’re looking for a band-aid to nurse our new wound.

Here’s a reality that may seem surprising to some: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” There are no surprises in that scenario, only predictable realities.

Don’t act surprised when you are faced with a predictable reality; it will just show your stupidity.

Denial of reality is the biggest cause of surprises.

What is real that you’re in denial about? It’s a sure bet that if you don’t take time to “get real,” you’ll suffer an unsurprising bite in the ass and claim you didn’t know it was coming.

Maybe it’s time to throw yourself a “Reality Party” and surprise yourself that you can have a different effect on your future.

All the best,

John