The Power of Repeating Important Things

1. Free hot out of the oven cookies made by Martha
2. Free fancy la-te-da flavored coffee made to order at Martha’s place
3. Talk to Dave Ramsey about how to connect our families receiving finical aid with his Financial Peace University Class
4. Figure out whether he actually is repeating the intro after each break or just using a recording

First, they have a lot of choices for cookies.  They bake a bunch of Otis Spunklemyer cookies which are good but nothing compared to the yummy apple cinnamon bars that Martha made from scratch.

Second, I’m not one that orders fancy coffee too often but they had this nice little sign with a bunch of options.  I decided to have the Almond Dark Chocolate Mocha.  I think free coffee is amazing enough on its own but my mind was blown when she made this amazing little leaf pattern in the foam.

Third, I did meet Dave Ramsey during a break and while I don’t have a plan in place yet to make it easy and affordable for families to attend FPU while their teen attends Project Patch, we are one step closer down that path.

Finally, I ignored all the other people around me as I watched dave through the glass of the studio window as he opened his show.  I heard the familiar words,

“Live from Finacial Peace Plaza it’s the Dave Ramsey show where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice…”

I was surprised to see his lips moving.  He was actually talking into the mic.  I couldn’t believe he says that phrase over and over and over again.  I probably would have recorded it and just pushed a button but Dave Ramsey chose to repeat the phrase over and over.  I watched him again as he returned from commercial break and once again, his lips were moving.

I could email or call Dave Ramsey and try to ask why he repeats the phrase every time but instead, I’m going to just throw my theory out to you.  He knows how powerful it is to repeat important things.

Repetition is important in two ways.

1. It is crucial to remind our brain what we are doing.   Saying something out loud is a way to tell your brain what to pay attention to.
2. It brings clarity to other people.  They don’t have to guess your agenda or what you think.  Even if they have heard it 1000 times, it still serves a purpose to establish the foundation of your relationship.

There are those people out there that think things should only be repeated once.  That repeating isn’t necessary and if they didn’t hear it the first time, tough luck.  They also think talking to one’s self is crazy.  Which really isn’t true, you are only crazy if you argue out loud with yourself.  To those people I repeatedly say, repetition is powerful, you need to use it more, you need to use it more.

The reality is that we often lack personal direction and our relationships are uncertain.  The power of repletion gives you relationship power that is undeniable.

So what should you be repeating to your kids and spouse?  What do you need to be reminded about in that specific relationship?  What foundation do they need to hear?

Here are two to try on for size.

1. That they are loved, adored.
2.  That you delight in them.

I’m not suggesting you be a thoughtless robot but instead, I’d like you to consider being a bit more like Dave and intentionally enter into key relationship moments with a reminder to yourself and the ones you love.