Cutting the Strings of the Past: How to Reclaim Agency in Your Life’s Second Act

“An empty coffee pot left on the coffee maker will shatter and hurt you.”

I remember, but I can’t recall where I heard this as a kid, but it stuck with me.

So much so that every morning, after I pour the last drop, I turn the machine off and place the empty pot several feet away until it is cool enough to wash.

I’m 50 years old, and I’ve done this for as long as I can recall — all with a twinge of fear lingering in my actions.

“It will shatter and hurt you.”

The coffee pot example may not be that strange, but what dawned on me is this:

I’ve never researched if this is true; I bought what an older person said at face value because I trust them, and they know better.

A quick Google search yielded a myriad of results; some say it will burn what little is left in the pot, others say shattering is a possibility.

Regardless, I will stick with my routine.

But now I am choosing my actions instead of being controlled by previously unverified words spoken over 40 years ago.

I cut a puppet string and replaced it with agency.