"The Higher You Go, The Less You Do"

 

... for
Executives,
Freshmen &
Jedi Knights.

 

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That's it. Makes you cry.

 
 

1. Best Behavior

 
 
 

Sometimes people stand back, as at a distance, and shoot an arrow at you, without much meaning, such as "There you go!" – It's what you might call a throwaway line – The question is, what do you say back?

 

A verbal tool, such as "That's it," helps you hold up your end of things without investing too much in the other person ... at least not at first.

 

"There you go!"
—That's it. Makes you cry.
(–Source: taxi1010.com stargate39)

 

There are many circumstances when you really can't afford to invest in another person, either emotionally, intellectually, or physically. For instance, in these examples, see how much "ad-libbing" you can avoid by using simple, almost automatic, verbal tools:

 

"The first rule of politics is to secure your base."
—That's it. Makes you cry.

 

"Marlon Brando died."
—That's it. Makes you cry.

 

"Which steak would you like?"
—That's it. Makes you cry.

 

"Would you like anything else?"
—That's it ... Nothing else.

 

"How do you like it cooked, rare?"
—That's it ... All set ... No more!  ... That's enough!

 

"Easy come, easy go."
—That's it. Makes you cry.

 

When you are around total strangers, the idea is to make small gestures of understanding ... to do for the sake of doing ... without feeling you always have to be a big investor.

 

However, just the moment you start investing in your own life, say, during your first week at college, or, God forbid, at a funeral, you bump into people who are not exactly logical ....

 

By confining yourself to what you know, you begin to discover what you need to find out. After the funeral, a waitress says, "Is everything okay?"

 

If you're on your Best Behavior, you'll notice "That's it" doesn't work so well here!

 

A verbal tool such as, "That's it," can be used ...

 

 

• to point something out, ("That's it,")

 

• to indicate wry truth, ("That's it,")

 

• to absorb throwaway lines, ("That's it,")

 

• to signal completion, ("That's it,")

 

• to assert boundaries, ("That's it,")

 

• to reflect death, ("That's it,")

 

• to register impatience, ("That's it!")

 

• to acknowledge correctness, ("That's it,")

 

• to appreciate narration of signs, ("That's it!")

 

• to affirm success, ("That's it!")

 

• to confirm, "Really?" ("That's it,")

 

• to allow departure, "I'll let you go." ("That's it!")

 

• to tell the puppy, "No more treats!" ("That's it!")

 

• to scream after a soccer goal, ("THAT'S IT!")

 

• and to slow down an Okay! Monster ....

 

It is so logical.

 

An Okay! Monster (Similar to a Really? Monster) says "Okay!" after everything you say, for instance, while you're teaching them procedural steps on a computer. After a while, you begin to say, "That's it," "That's about it," or "Almost done!" after each "Okay!" to help keep you less insane.

 

 

"Then you press the RETURN key."

 

"Okay."

 

"That's it ... Finally, back up your work."

 

"Okay."

 

"That's about it ... Use a rotating system of some kind."

 

"Okay."

 

"That's it! Almost done ...."

 

The second things begin to go illogical, switch to "Try everything!"

 

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This concludes our discussion of "That's it!"

 

 

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