I've always thought "taking a step back" was a good idea when processing a problem. You get a sense of the bigger issue, you see things from a new point of view, and you can distance yourself from the emotions involved with whatever it is you're thinking about.
The thing is, sometimes when you take a step back, you can't see the problem anymore.
Take my house, for example. From across the street, it looks great. Green grass, pretty color on the outside, fun little gables and a white picket fence. (No kidding.) But when you step a little closer you can see some of the stuff that really needs to have some attention. There's a corner of the lawn that's all crabgrass. The planter around the mailbox needs mulch. Some of the trim by the door is rotting. On the whole, the house looks pretty good, but those little problems add up, and you can't just leave them until you can tell from across the street that your house is a mess.
I've been working on getting my "house" in order. That's part of why I'm doing my 30 Before 30 list-- it's just the little push I need to try new things and get out of my various ruts. And I'm doing my best to look at the pieces of my life that maybe other people can't see from across the street. Those things are important, and they need maintenance just as much as a caved in roof or a completely dead lawn.
And maybe you don't (and can't) understand what they are to me, and why I have to do what I have to do, because you're a step too far back. I'm working on being ok with that.
1 comment:
Well... if you were obsessing so much about the rot in the door trim, and your roof really was rotting in and your whole house was about to collapse, door trim included... well yes, then maybe that would be the right time to step back.
But it's caring for the little things like the rot around the door, that prevent the big problems like the roof. So I agree they're super important.
In any case it's your house! You get to decide what to work on. :-D I love your 30 before 30. I've been in-rut before too, and I have a friend, an amazing guy, who's been in a rut for years now--and the rut becomes a dangerous place. You go girl.
Post a Comment