Watch for the red flags...
Today I watched Episode 15, Lucy Plays Cupid, which aired on January 21, 1952.
In this episode, one of Lucy’s neighbors asks her to deliver a note to the man she has a crush on. Ricky warns Lucy to stay out of it, but of course, she doesn’t. The man mistakenly believes that Lucy is the one who is interested in him!
Lucy tries everything she can think of to scare him away. She cooks him a terrible meal, makes the apartment look dirty, dresses in an unkempt way, and even tells him she has more than 20 children. But nothing deters him. He is convinced that he is madly in love with her.
When he professes his love for Lucy, Ricky finds out what has been happening. Instead of becoming angry, Ricky plays along and gracefully agrees to pack his things and leave. Meanwhile, Lucy’s neighbor finally gets up the nerve to speak to her crush herself—and the two of them walk out together.
I loved watching Lucy try to chase this man away by becoming everything he supposedly despised. Yet no matter how many warning signs she placed directly in front of him, he refused to see them.
It got me thinking: How many times do we ignore red flags because we want something so badly?
I have definitely been guilty of this in the past. But lately, I have become better at recognizing the red flags—and stopping.
Recently, we were trying to purchase a car. The dealership pressured us to buy a color we didn’t want while refusing to offer any discount on the color we actually wanted. I didn’t like the experience. Something felt off. I felt a big red flag in my body. We decided to walk away.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned what a red flag feels like in my body. For me, it usually shows up in my stomach, and I get a stomach ache. When that happens, I know something isn’t right. I need to pause, pay attention to what is happening around me, and notice the energy of the situation.
Listen to what you are sensing. Listen to what you are feeling. Notice the red flags—especially the ones your body recognizes before your mind is ready to admit that something isn’t right.
Trust yourself.
