Little things have big value and can make or break you

Little things have big value and can make or break you. Years later, that child can harm himself or harm others because one small statement gathered momentum and caused a hazardous ripple effect. Yet, the opposite is true. When we encourage, build and affirm loved ones, we deposit into a love bank that gives back tenfold. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • It’s the little things. It always is. The straw that breaks the camels back. The needle in a haystack that we search for. The pennies we are told to save if we want to get rich or haba na haba hujaza kibaba as we know in Kiswahili. The little foxes that spoil the den. Little, seemingly insignificant things.
  • So yes, little things can get you a bride or break a marriage. Little things have significant consequences. Ask the person who slept on an uncomfortable pillow in a five-star hotel. Or the recipient of bad service in a highly rated restaurant. The experience is almost ruined by what many would consider a “little” thing.

To realise the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realise the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realise the value of one minute, ask a person who missed the train.

To realise the value of one second, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realise the value of one millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

It’s the little things. It always is. The straw that breaks the camels back. The needle in a haystack that we search for. The pennies we are told to save if we want to get rich or haba na haba hujaza kibaba as we know in Kiswahili. The little foxes that spoil the den. Little, seemingly insignificant things.

LITTLE IS A BIG DEAL

In the fairytale, The Princess and The Pea, a young prince is looking for a bride. However, he is unhappy about all the suitable candidates.

One day a young woman shows up drenched from the rain as she seeks shelter in the palace. She claims to be a princess.

The Queen mother decides to test her by placing a pea under 20 mattresses and 20 feather-beds upon which the young woman is to sleep. The assumption is that only royalty will be able to feel the pea through the thick bedding. In the morning, when asked about her night, the young woman answers that she hardly slept, kept awake by something hard in her bed.

And thus a bride is chosen for the prince. Many pastors like to talk about how marriages can end because of the different ways spouses squeeze the proverbial toothpaste.

So yes, little things can get you a bride or break a marriage. Little things have significant consequences. Ask the person who slept on an uncomfortable pillow in a five-star hotel. Or the recipient of bad service in a highly rated restaurant. The experience is almost ruined by what many would consider a “little” thing.

So why don’t we get it? Why do we put great effort and money behind “big” visible displays, titles or actions?

Truth is, big things demand attention but the older I get, the more deliberate I am about the place of “little” things. I’m still celebrating milestones like birthdays, graduations, weddings but also learning to make a fuss about the not so significant milestones like a child improving their grade in the end of year exams.

And here’s why. Little things can have drastic consequences and even if they don’t they add up to the big things eventually.

Children are fascinated by dominos, but after lining up dozens of blocks, a simple flick of the finger against the first block will topple all the others. The first domino brought down the other 20.

Would you do business differently if you understood how one person with a negative attitude can infect and destroy a whole team?

Another analogy I like to use is that of the Tsunami. There’s an earthquake under water, that sends ripples to the surface of the sea.

INVESTING IN CHILDREN

Those ripple swell against their own momentum, gathering speed and height as they race to the shore. The waves that cause destruction are usually the height of tall buildings.

When we castigate a child every day, telling them they are good for nothing, all in an effort to reinforce positive behaviour, it looks like a small statement.

Yet, years later, that child can harm himself or harm others because one small statement gathered momentum and caused a hazardous ripple effect. Yet, the opposite is true. When we encourage, build and affirm loved ones, we deposit into a love bank that gives back tenfold.

If we are observant, we will note that life constantly reminds us not to despise small things or small beginnings in the most profound and natural of ways. That’s why little seeds grow into colourful flowering plants, fruit trees or thorny hedges.