There are some things that you only need to experience once to change your behavior. Most things take at least three exposures, but every once in a while, we get to experience things that affect us immediately. These are the things in my life:

1. I found a spider in my tennis shoe one time. Now, I shake out my shoes before I wear them. Well, it was a shoe that I store in the garage that I use for mowing the lawn and yardwork. I call them the poo shoes, as they frequently have poo on them. So, I shake out the garage shoes. Inside shoes still seem okay.
2. When I was a kid, I jumped into a pit behind Rosom’s house. A club house that had been there had collapsed, so there were boards in there. I rammed a nail right through the bottom of my tennis shoe and well into my foot. I no longer jump into lumber piles. Fortunately, at this point in my life, there is little opportunity for this activity. As a side note, a friend (can’t remember who) pulled that nail out through the bottom of my shoe, I bandaged my bleeding foot, and went on with my day. Good thing Mom kept us updated on our tetanus shots.
3. Probably in that same time frame, I ran across our freshly tarred street barefoot. About four steps in, I realized that that had been a really bad idea. But, at that point I had momentum and was half way across, so I continued. That tar stuck for days. My feet were fairly calloused because we went everywhere barefoot in the summer. In fact, if we needed shoes, we usually couldn’t find them, or they didn’t fit anymore. But, I never ran across hot tar again. Fortunately, it also rarely comes up these days.
4. I found two wasps on the work out towel that I leave on my spin bike while I was using the towel to wipe my copiously sweaty face and neck. Now, I shake that towel out before using it. I was spared a sting because they seemed sleepy.
5. One night at the cottage, I tossed back the covers of the bed to jump in, and there was a HUGE spider. Is it me, or are spiders bigger at cottages? Now, I won’t get into that bed before checking first. I haven’t found one again, but that won’t stop me from checking. I don’t do this at home, because I haven’t found a spider there yet.
6. I slipped down several stairs carrying a full load of dirty laundry down the stairs. I’m not even sure why I was carrying the laundry down, as we have a laundry chute. As I was home alone, I pictured myself being found hours later with my neck snapped. Now, I use the chute. Although, the chute clogged up once (too much laundry at one time…bottleneck situation) and that was a chore to undo. Still better than being found at the bottom of the stairs with a snapped neck. Hypochondriac much here?
7. Finally, once you hear a squirrel in the ceiling of your cottage, you will forever hear a squirrel in the ceiling of the cottage. Even if the squirrel is not there. I still hear it. I have four traps and four ultrasonic alarms all over, but I still swear I can hear it. Just ask Travis.

So, these are my not-so-life-changing events. But they are definitely behavior changing. I am interested to hear if you have anything that was permanently behavior changing. Please share. And enjoy the rest of July.