A fulfilling life lies in taking good care of little things
What you need to know:
- We make big promises to ourselves to improve our health, be more productive and become a better parent or spouse.
- And then we go out and sign up for a gym, take an educational course and plan an expensive family holiday.
- Turns out though that we achieve better success if we take care of the little things first.
The longest month of the year is with us, and it can be something of an anti-climax to the festivities of the previous month.
Reality checks in this month, with reducing bank balances, travel crises brought about by the travel ban, traffic and school fees.
It is only the first week of the month but it seems like we have had January longer. On the background of this, it can be tempting to give in to January blues. Do not.
Robert H Shuller told the story of an interaction he witnessed in a coffee shop in his book ‘Be An Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World’. An elderly man sat in the booth next to him. The waitress came over, took his order and brought him a jug of hot coffee.
As she poured into his cup, she said, “That’s the best way to start a day, with a good cup of coffee.” The man responded, “Oh no, the best way to start the day is with a good morning.”
While the hot coffee was a welcome energiser to the morning, the old man believed exchanging common courtesies meant more. In our hurried and angst ridden world, the warmth of a simple “good morning” is often ignored.
MAKE BIG PROMISES
Yet isn’t life like that? We go for the big rocks, the big ticket items, the big resolutions and the big actions and ignore the little things that really do make a world of a difference. We make big promises to ourselves to improve our health, be more productive and become a better parent or spouse.
And then we go out and sign up for a gym, take an educational course and plan an expensive family holiday. Turns out though that we achieve better success if we take care of the little things first. This is best illustrated by the graduation speech former US Navy Seal, Admiral William H. McRaven gave at the University of Texas in 2014 that went viral.
In it he said, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another.
“By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do big things right. If, by chance, you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
PRACTICAL HABITS
He went on to publish, ‘Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe The World,’ that made it USA Today’s best selling books list in 2017. The admiral was on to something and 91 million viewers of his speech on Facebook knew it too. His simple message was this: Take care of the little things.
S. J. Scott, author of Habit Stacking, writes, “As an example, you probably brush your teeth. This habit doesn’t take that long, but not doing it every day could have a disastrous impact. You could get gingivitis or tooth decay. You could even lose some of your teeth. All of these outcomes are extremely painful and expensive. Yet most people are able to prevent them simply by brushing their teeth on a consistent basis.”
Scott gives practical examples of habits that include: Text something encouraging (for relationships), turn off lights and appliances (to reduce spending) and yes Make your bed (for better home organisation. It is true that the little foxes do spoil the den. On the other hand, little positive daily habits can make for a great year.
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