The small things in life may feel insignificant. A minor group project, one of hundreds of final exams, or an administrative task at work. While it may be true that one can get away with a mediocre level of effort the majority of time, that doesn’t matter. The point is that positive change and development can occur when applying a large level of effort.
When going through these motions, it is common to experience the “10-years-down-the-road” syndrome. In 10 years, will this matter? Will I remember the outcome? So far, those are fair questions. It is the subsequent thought process that is problematic. Since it won’t matter in 10 years, it doesn’t really matter now.
Not true. The small things can make a huge difference. They can make THE difference, and oddly enough, they can provide the solutions to huge problems.
As Rory Sutherland illustrates in the following TED talk, it is time to start taking the small things seriously. What he doesn’t touch on is that paying attention to detail is a habit. It comes with practice. If you delay, it simply becomes harder and harder to master. I am starting today - join me?
