OR NOT

Ah the impulse of the moment. To toss out some inspiration and hope it will be greeted by such touching response.

Then come those, "you got to be kidding" stares. That's when you know you're screwed. Because there is no way after that stare you can expect the person to agree.

So the quickest comeback is to say, or not. Which is basically to avoid the shame of looking like an idiot when you thought things were one way and finding out that you weren't even close.

Of not to me is OOPS without having to say it. That for me pretty much is a way to avoid any potential disaster in terms of what some one might conclude from other than what you want them to believe is true.

I'm grateful this doesn't come up too often. I don't think I could handle it if I had to do this or not all the time. I would feel like an idiot.

But every once and a while there is no choice. You just end up blowing it. Time for doing what you can to save face.

And if all of this sounds boring, you're right it is. That is the whole point, sometimes you are stuck facing what is boring.

The trick is to try and avoid admitting it is boring. Which is where the or not needs to be creative.

See you don't have to say or not as such. What you need to do is make it an option. So if the person snarls at your first suggestion you can come back with what hopefully is a better one.

Only you have to be sure it is not similar to the first one. Otherwise they end up thinking you are an idiot.

They might have wondered about it after your first suggestion, but they will definitely decide it is true if you make a bad second choice. Which means the second choice better be well planned out.

This can be tough to manage if you are panicking. It is not the time to let somebody else discover the real you.

These are moments that call for rising to the challenge to avoid being yourself. To through away the mirror and see yourself as a god.

If that doesn't work, you just pretend to be somebody else. Preferably a person of quality. That might be a stretch, but it is better than looking like who you really are.