Returning Your Shopping Cart Speaks Volumes About You

Sep 20, 2017

There's something that drives me nuts. It will probably seem like a small thing to you, but to me, it's not. It's the sight of shopping carts scattered all over a store's parking lot. There, I said it. Knowing my shopping cart pet peeve, my wife showed me a meme that said if you don't learn to return your shopping cart, you won't be a successful person. We laughed about it, but then I thought about the underlying truth of it. The world is made up of two kinds of people: cart returners and cart deserters. To return or not to return, that is the question, and the answer speaks volumes about you.

Disclaimer: This blog post pokes fun at the topic of returning shopping carts. It's about people who can make the choice whether to return a shopping cart or not, and it does not refer to those with disabilities or family safety issues which would prevent them from returning a cart.

Cart deserters have a myriad of excuses for not returning their shopping carts, but the one thing their excuses have in common is that it's all about them. Taking the time to put the cart away shows you care about the employees of the store who have to gather those scattered carts. Putting your cart in the cart receptacle area makes their job much easier. You can even take it a step further by offering to return the cart of a disabled person or returning a cart that someone left near your car. The truth is that successful people care about other people, and they look for ways to serve and benefit them. The great Zig Ziglar said, "You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want." This is also true when it comes to finances. Clutching tightly to money means that no money comes in or goes out. You've heard it said that if you give, it will be given back to you. Givers tend to make more money. 

Defining moments show what's at our core. These moments happen in large and small ways, including the choice to return a shopping cart. Walking those few extra steps shows discipline and intentionality. When you commit yourself to high standards in the small things, you will do the same when it comes to larger things. Discipline is admirable, and employers and others are attracted to people who have it. It shows you can be trusted to stay focused and do what is right. When it comes to money, disciplined people stick to a budget and don't take the easy way out. Just like returning a shopping cart, they pay attention to small things and are willing to do the work it takes to succeed.

Everyone knows that being an Ebenezer Scrooge means a miserable existence. Just like in the Dickens' story, an uncaring scrooge isn't a happy person. Joy comes from giving, and giving can be shown in many ways. From donating to a charity to returning a shopping cart, joy flourishes from a caring, giving heart. Having an outward focus means you spend less money on yourself and more energy serving others. Cart deserters can become cart returners. It's never too late! Doing the right thing feels great and empowers us to go forth and conquer.

Are you going to be changing your shopping cart habits from now on? Click SHARE to show your friends and family!