The Little Things
“In a world where big things have little difference – it is the little things that make the big difference…” — Peter Thomson
No matter what you do, it will be the addition of all the little things in life that ends up being the reason for our failures or successes. It is always the little things found in our everyday activities such as:
1. Our choice of thoughts.
2. Our choice of words when speaking to a subordinate, superior, relative, friend, etc.
3. The way we word our letters or emails.
4. The expression on our face or even the most subtle look can let our customers, our boss, our friends, our children or our spouse know how we feel about what we are doing or what it is we have been asked to do and we have not said a word.
5. Our little actions let our children know if we have any genuine interest at all in what they are saying.
Remember, it is the accumulation of the little things that will either lead to big problems or big successes.
It has been proven true when we take care of the little things the big ones usually take care of themselves. On the other hand when we are only concerned about the big things the little ones can sneak up on us like weeds to become that which eventually brings ruin. Yes, like weeds choking out the crop, these little things will eventually choke out, at the very least some of your efforts, and if allowed to go too long they can become a BIG THING, which may be responsible for financial ruin or keeping you treading water. Obviously, neither is good, for success is mastering the little things in every facet of life be it marriage, parenting, being a good husband or wife, a good student, a good teacher, or business owner. Whatever it is, you find yourself doing, it is the little things that will make the difference in the long run.
As an example let’s take a look at Valentine’s Day. If, the only time a husband was to do something special for his wife was on that day he is surely forgetting or possibly overlooking the little things he could be doing each and every day to let her know she is something special to him all the time not just one day a year. The same applies to the wife however, they are not as likely to overlook the small things in the same way husbands do. The reason is they usually have “small things” at home dragging on them all the time and small things with children are big things. Speaking of small things or acting small, Dads can be the biggest child.
Anyway, guys can do small things like leaving notes, voice mails when you know they can’t answer, opening the car and every other door, showing her attention without sexual intention, speaking highly of her when talking to others (especially other women) for eventually those others will let her know how hubby couldn’t quit talking about her, how he kept praising her. This works best for making a strong relationship much more so than making belittling or demeaning comments about what you feel may be her shortcomings.
In our jobs it is always the little things we do that add up. Many would rather try impressing the client or boss with a big thing than to do all of the necessary little things. It is however, staying on top of as well as taking care of the little things that make us valuable not only to the company, but more importantly, to ourselves.
When an architect has come up with a design for a signature, state of the art building, the only thing most people will ever see is the finished product. They will not see nor be aware of all of the little things; the little details he had to think about; all of which were necessary to make the building safe and sound. If he had only focused on getting the big thing done and not focused on the little things the building would have been a failure for it would not have stood the testing of the high winds; the shifting ground due to the cold and heat; the weight loads as well as many other factors. Likewise, by taking care of the little things we will be doing that which is of utmost importance to the integrity and efficiency of the jobs we hold. It is ‘the doing’ of the little things, which reveal our character.
If we all took the time to reflect, we would find it is the little things that add up in in our personal life as well. How many times have we let a few little things go only to have them add up to become something large and out of control thereby, causing us to have a meltdown? When a pipe becomes clogged it is usually many little things building up, which eventually cause the clog. The big thing was easy to see and grab so, we kept it from going down the drain, but the little things sneak down and begin to hang onto the sides until there are so many of them they cause the water to drain slowly or stop draining altogether.
The clog happened by allowing the little things to add up. It is this way in every aspect of our lives. The little things are what will put us over the top. The little things are what will keep our lives in order. Dealing with the little things as they happen will keep us from having a meltdown. Learning to properly deal with tomorrows. I know I use it a lot, but once again; “Life is TEN percent what happens to you and NINETY percent your response – to the little things!”
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox