too ready?

March 5, 2015 · by · in Uncategorized

'El Niño has arrived! The NWS Climate Prediction Center issued an El Niño Advisory today, noting El Niño conditions were observed during February. Forecasters say it is a weak El Niño and predict it will stay weak at least through spring. Due to its weak strength it will have little influence on weather and climate in the United States. It is likely too late and too weak to provide much relief for drought-stricken California. Forecast: http://1.usa.gov/1ggMcrL News release: http://1.usa.gov/1EmLMxI El Niño is an ocean-atmospheric phenomenon marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, which occur on average every 2-7 years and last about 9-18 months. The presence of El Niño can significantly influence global weather, climate and ocean conditions, as well as marine fisheries.'

Is there any downside to being “too ready”?  Isn’t this the state of preparedness? Isn’t this “being ready”, the mature, responsible behavior that is expected of adults and that we do our best to install in our children and teens? If being ready is good and not being ready is bad, is being ” too ready” either? What does Merriam Webster say about “ready”?

Full Definition of READY a :  prepared mentally or physically for some experience or action b :  prepared for immediate use <dinner is ready> a :  willingly disposed :  inclined <ready to agree to his proposal b :  likely to do something indicated <a house that looks ready to collapse>:  displayed readily and spontaneously <a ready wit>  immediately available <had ready cash>

— at the ready

:  ready for immediate use <kept guns at the ready>
Now, that is all the good things about being ready. What if we take it over the top?
What could “too ready” look like?
1. Too Ready- Too alert- Have you ever seen a fireman or first responder who is on high alert at all times? They have beepers hanging from every limb and all they do is jump whenever any sound erupts- checking beepers, phones, texts or sirens and looking poised for flight at any moment? Have you noticed the hypertension and ulcers, the sleep difficulty and anxiety? What happens to these folks when they retire? Do they ever get off this adrenaline high and settle down?
2. Too Ready- To be done- Have you ever known of a student who wants desperately to graduate and be done, only to find that these days they were all “too ready” to be done were the best days of their life? Would there be anyway to advise them to slow down and embrace this time, when they are just so beyond ready , to get to the next phase?
No, I don’t think we can change a person’s attitude on anything that they have decided they are just “too ready, for it to be over”. Have you seen people in the midst of separation and divorce, rushing to the finish line? Would they even be in such a hurry, if they knew that ending could be a mistake? How many people are just “too ready” to discard a phase or person, in their life’s path?
3.Too Ready- for something to come- Have you ever noticed how colorful and excited the Weather Reports get when there is a “Storm of the Century” or “Hurricane No Name” on the way? There is no way they can accurately forecast, everything, every time. But, we sit and wait expectantly or rush around preparing. Did you notice that many times 8 inches turns into 1 inch or a path of destruction turns off the coast and leaves us undisturbed?
Delilah's photo.
Why would we not just choose to be ready- just prepared at a reasonable level- just pacing ourselves at a sensible rate- just on standby and ready just in case? It is this excessive state of being “too ready” that harms our health, our relationships and our common sense. If we could just remember that 95% of the things we worry about never happen we could get a better perspective.  I believe then, we could take things in a more realistic framework. We would be hovering on “ready” and that is a good place to be.