To be effective, I need to focus on the small things!
This may at first seem ineffective but not when it comes to important actions and tasks in our lives. I thought I was prepared and what I had done was to overlook a part of both of these situations that undermined my effectiveness. I didn't focus on the small things of each situation.
Sometimes we tend to be caught up in the obvious part of a situation and forget to look for the small actions or emotions that really make a difference. It takes action to find out what these small but important contributors are so we can be the most effective. You may not realize this but intellectual or physical laziness can limit our will to take action to find out what would be the best way to resolve relationship differences or complete a task at hand.
The relationship that I am referring to was mended but it could have been welded together if I had taken stock of my emotions and been willing to open up a bit more. I didn't do that at the time of the meeting because I hadn't prepared myself to go there emotionally. It caught me off guard! I didn't think I was going to have to go there.
In regards to the article that I am researching for Vision.org website, I had forgot to focus on a small but important part of the subject that I was researching -- I didn't think it was important because I had overlooked that part of the subject for a while. It turns out that it is a very important part of the subject and I am not prepared to write about it because I am not yet prepared in this area. Here are two illustrations of how not being prepared with the finer details of a situation can limit our effectiveness.
What can we do to avoid this? Be circumspect in all of our dealings with people and issues! Take time to review and rethink each situation or task -- don't rush into things without bringing all the issues onto the table. We forget sometimes, don't we?
An effective way to solve this oversight is to do a checklist before moving forward. I teach this principle all the time so why didn't I do it? I forgot! I got lazy! Kevin Eikenberry talks about this in one of his latest blogs.
Speaking of small things, I read an article in the NY Times this morning that made a lot of sense. It talked about listening to our bodies when we are exercising or eating. Sometimes it is hard to get a bead on what our bodies are saying but if we listen, it will tell us. It could make a huge difference whether we can lose weight or maintain our weight or just get in shape.
I hope that we will focus on these small things and not limit our effectiveness by thinking they are not important.
Until next time,
Jerry de Gier
