“Nothing Matters and Everything Matters”
This thought has been on my mind for a while; what with having one of my closest friends passing, and spending 3 days on a Leadership course where people either did not remember ‘small details’ and/or got lost in the detail.
Let’s explore a few examples…
1. Mat work; getting a posture correct, for example a side-plank. A ‘proper’ side-plank consists of so many intricate, small details. Wrist mobility and strength; elbow being rotated outwardly; having strength in a fully extended, loaded position; shoulder girdle, core, breath, pelvis high and positioned correctly – I could literally write an A4 page containing ‘small details for the perfect side-plank’… and do they matter? Yes, I believe they do. Why, because you will never even appreciate and experience ‘the elevated, strong, freeing feeling’ that a side-plank brings when you have not spent time building it correctly. You will always somehow feel intimidated and overwhelmed by a side-plank, especially when the teacher adds a few twists to the cocktail. You most probably will also hurt or strain something, usually your neck, due to a weak base from your wrist up. So here, yes, small details do matter.
2. When you have fight, especially a drawn-out conflict or a conflict that happened last week, last month or even a year ago. Does it ‘really matter’? Most of the time not. When I find myself focussing on the small things that have been said and done or not done, I know deep down that I am not ready to resolve, I am not quite ready for peace, not yet. When I can’t even remember the small details or when they become insignificant then I know in my heart, that I have moved on, and yes, I want a resolution.
3. When you go out for a run. You take your phone to time the route that you have run a 100 times, but does the time really matter? I don’t judge you if it does, I just wonder why? Are you training for a PB, are you training to compete? Does keeping the time motivate you to run faster or more efficiently? I am merely suggesting that sometimes it might be good to check-in, to think why you time it. Does it matter?
4. Having to be right…
5. Having to get it right, all the time…
6. Having to know it all…
7. Achievements; busting your guts, working endless hours for success (money, status, power, validation, expansion, acknowledgment etc) and sacrificing so many things to be successful, to end up in a grave, or as ash…. Did any of that matter when you did not enjoy your life?
Deriving joy and pleasure out of the small and the big things; the people around you, within yourself, your outlets, your pursuits… Yes, for me they do matter. A lot.
My task: Make a list of the 5 things that genuinely matter to me: What are the 5 things that I will never give up or walk away from in my life, if I am fortunate enough to have an option;
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
All of a sudden the stress levels lower and even disappear, the small sh!*t in life fades away, the pressure fog has lifted and I can breathe. I am alive and well, I want to make, and take, time to smell the roses.
100 days and more in Covid – what have you done during this time that really matters? What have you learnt? What have you given? Incredible really. A 10-day strike has been an achievement before, now I laugh at it, I never in a million years thought that I would be imposed by a 100-day strike… Thank you for teaching me that I could and can, and who knows, it might end up being 200 days and at some point we might lose count. Cause, it doesn’t really matter, does it?
