I like to think that I’m a pretty tough guy. I’ve walked on a big toe that had no middle
joint in it for over a year before finally succumbing to the pain and seeing a
surgeon to get it fixed. I broke my wrist during a class to get my
motorcycle license and finished out the class.
I’ve been hit on my bike by a truck, gotten up, went to the park and
played football like I was planning to pre accident, albeit with only one
working arm. I once drilled a screw
straight into that meaty area of the hand between the thumb and the first
finger, got the screw out, wrapped the hand and kept on building the shelves my
Dad and I were working on (that one left a really cool scar!).
I’m also at heart a pragmatist. It drives my wife insane sometimes. “What do you think”, she’ll ask me, and I’ll
reply with several logical responses that are actually what I am thinking but
don’t really relate to how I feel about something, which is what she’s really
asking about.
Life beats us up. It’s
a fact, and it is unavoidable. Even the
wealthiest, the best, the nobility, the sheltered, take their lumps like the
rest of us from time to time. I came to terms
with this a long time ago and I have stopped trying to avoid getting hit. What I’ve started to do is become smart about
the hits that I take.
Getting hit in the stomach sucks. There’s the initial sharp pain, followed by a
dull ache that takes a little while to dissipate. Compare that if you will to getting slapped
in the face. You feel an acute pain that
quickly goes away, and while your cheek might be red for a while, it leaves you
soon enough. Given the choice, I think
that it is safe to say that most of us would choose a slap in the face over the
punch to the gut any day.
Think about the following scenario for a moment. Given the choice between a single punch to
the stomach or repeated slaps to the face, which would you choose? Do you choose the isolated instance of pain,
knowing that it will hurt for a while then go away, or do you choose the
constant, nagging pain of the slaps that just keep on coming your way?
Given that choice, I will now always try to take the punch
to the stomach.
Ok, great. What the
hell does that have to do with anything, you may be asking yourself right about
now.
I submit to you that during our lives every day we are
taking repeated slaps to the face instead of a single punch to the
stomach. Whether it’s putting off doing
the dishes for a few days, or paying our bills, or doing our laundry, or
continuing to reboot a dying server instead of replacing it, or stalling on
writing up that employee for a series of minor infractions or reacting to
issues instead of proactively addressing them, we are unconsciously making the
decision to accept repeated slaps in lieu of a punch to the stomach. Instead of sucking it up and getting things
done the right way, we accept Band-Aids, half assed approaches, and
procrastination as suitable alternatives.
Why? It’s easier, cheaper, and less
confrontational, less work, indeed; less painful. Or so we think.
The reality is that the pain in the long run becomes far
more severe as well as more impactful to others around you- your family, your organization. It becomes a chronic condition, and sadly
until it flares up, we accept the pain as part of our life.
The solution is a punch to a stomach. Take the time to do things right the first
time. Fully consider our decisions and
don’t weigh cost more heavily than other aspects when making choices. If there is an opportunity to enhance our
performance, responsiveness, efficiency, or have some dishes in the morning for
our daily oatmeal, take it. You know you’ll
have to wash those bowls sooner or later, so why not do it now when you’re
washing those plates?
The results will be astonishing. You will save time and money, you will become
more efficient, and you will probably even rest easier at night knowing that
you’ve made the best decision, not the easiest.
And in the end, all of that will make that dull ache in your
solar plexus dissipate that much faster.
Trust me, you won’t miss that constant stinging in your cheeks at
all.
