Mundane Details are Significant in the quest for Personal Good

Jul 12
09:13

2009

Gary Eby

Gary Eby

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

As the benevolent Bruce Barton once said. "Sometimes when I consider what tumultuous consequences come from little things. I am tempted to think that there are no little things." Imagine the monumental feats we can accomplish by quaint trivial achievements through life training and skill building. These little things can definitely contribute to the bigger picture, to your personal mission to the realization of your personal worth.

mediaimage
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Our personal mission can either be fully attained through menial deeds,Mundane Details are Significant in the quest for Personal Good Articles be it an insignificant time spent for life training by reading self help articles for your personal development. Or a 30 minutes jog to the park and back can contribute to a healthier lifestyle in the long run, no matter how small it may seem these details are extremely relevant to our life.  A single even in our life and how we react on it can create a tremendous impact in the long run.

 

            We all know about the Titanic, it was labeled as the ship that would never sink.

 

On that fateful night as the rich and famous enjoyed their palatial surroundings something awful happened! The unthinkable, the unimaginable happened.  Alas, we all know the story. The ship hit an iceberg.

 

The Titanic was designed to be the greatest achievement of an era of prosperity, propriety, and confidence. She stood taller above the water than most buildings of the time. It was 883 feet long. That’s 1/6 of a mile, 92 feet wide and weighed 46,328 tons. She was 104 feet tall and 35 feet of that was below the waterline.

 

This ship was massive but diminutive things doomed her.

 

Wireless operator Phillips on the night of April 14, was extremely busy sending numerous meaningless passenger’s messages to Cape Race Newfoundland. These were relayed inland to friends and relatives of the passengers. He received at least six ice-warnings that night, but didn’t realize how close Titanic was to the position of the warning, and he put that sixth message under a paperweight at his elbow. It never came to the attention of Captain Smith or the officer on the bridge.  To him that was just a “little thing.”

 

TheWhite Star Line employed professional lookouts seamen specially trained for the job. Binoculars were absolutely essential to their task. Unfortunately, the binoculars employed during the sea trials on April 2, were apparently misplaced between that time of the trials and the actual sailing. Using only the naked eye, lookout, Frederick Fleet, did not see the iceberg until it was a mere 500 yards ahead, only 37 seconds from impact.  But then again not having binoculars was just a “little thing.”

 

This “unsinkable ship” had a resounding 16 water tight compartments. It was determined that four of them could be punctured without the ship going down. And that it would NEVER happen. But when they hit the iceberg the 5th seal was punctured. It only had a miniscule hole about the size of an icebox. But again that was just a “little thing. After all ” This was a 46 ton vessel!

 

Yet, history tells us these little things ... all put together sank the biggest cruise liner in the world!

 

During that night of  terror and tragedy ... and heroism, 705 lives were saved, and 1502 lives were lost ... because of “little things.”

           

Little things make a big difference! 

 

Termites are little, but given time, they can eat an entire house.

 

A match is a “little thing” but it can burn and destroy an entire forest.

 

The tongue regardless the miniscule size has the power of life or death within its tip.

 

“Little things” can destroy a business, a marriage and a life. But, little things can also turn a life around!

 

The distinction between a million dollar horse and a hundred thousand dollar horse could be one inch. Can you imagine the difference in value in the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the runner up?  The winner is probably worth 50 times as much.  In reality, is he fifty times better?  Absolutely not!  A 'little' better makes a lot of difference.

 

When Muhammad Ali won the Heavyweight championship for the first time the radio reports rang out “Last night Muhammad Ali became the greatest champion of all time.”  That was way off.

 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying he wasn’t a great champion.  The phrase I’m debating is “last night!”  You see, he did not become heavyweight champion on that particular night.  He was “CROWNED” heavyweight champion on that particular night.

 

            He was always a champion, he became champion when he got out of bed and did 100’s of miles of roadwork. He became champion when he pounded the punching bag for what seemed like an eternity.  He became champion spending day after day in the gym sparing training. It was years of paying attention to the “little things” that finally paid off on that particular night.

 

            Success and failure are big doors that swing on small hinges of little things.

 

Little things make or break a family.  Little things like saying “I love you!”  Little things like going to a soccer game instead of playing golf for the 4th week in a row. Little things like going to the third grade play. Little things like building a playhouse. Little things like “taking” the kids to church rather than “sending” them. Little things like flowers, a surprise date night, or a “singing telegram” delivered by you!  Yes, it’s the little things that make a difference.  This is so powerful

Big things started out from little things thus the old adage of keeping a daily habit of little good deeds will ultimately come back to you. Thus is the necessity for personal development and growth for your personal mission.