This week has proven to be a great week, and a busy one. The first half was spent in Tampa, FL for business training where I was able to connect with my teammates from around the country. The training was mostly technical and around the future of what we’ll be selling.
During our training, a common phrase used was, ‘Not to get too far down in the weeds’. Meaning, not to get too detailed and specific about a technical point that would take away from the larger picture we were discussing.
For whatever reason, it rang out in my head every time the expression was used by one of the presenters who was chasing a rabbit after one of our team asked them too many questions about a small point. It was as though there was a lesson there for me. Often in my line of work, the importance of paying attention to detail could make a million-dollar difference either in favor of or against the company. So, you can imagine that I tend to pay more attention to detail these days.
Although paying attention to detail is crucial in my job, in life it can cause one to be myopic (single-minded and focused) and miss out on the bigger picture by being distracted with the insignificant details instead of seeing the broader picture.
I know, we’re all created (‘Wired’) differently and that certainly plays a role in what we do in life. Some people will never be a visionary automaker because they’ll get caught up in how a stereo knob turns. Others will never become engineers because they’re too concerned about what color the product is supposed to be. But, even though we’re all different, it doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from each other.
The visionary would do well to listen to the engineers who tell them the product needs to be corrected before selling to the general public (i.e. Tesla). The engineer would do well to listen to the visionary who can guide them in the correct route to take through the development stages helping to create a product that beats out the competition.
For me, not getting too caught in the weeds helps me to see beyond myself. It helps me to look past the problems I may think are big to see that I’m not alone in this world; others have problems even bigger than mine. In fact, getting past the monocular focus helps me to find peace, hope, and a little less stress by not focusing on the negative. It helps me to see the positive in a situation too.
If you’re struggling to get out of the weeds in your life at times, I want to encourage you to step back and take a look beyond the small issues that tend to consume us all. Sure, those weeds are important and could be hiding something dangerous, but if we miss the larger picture, we may be missing out on a lot. The key is finding a balance. Finding that balance, with God’s help, will make you more aware of the details in the weeds and allow you to enjoy the view more than you could ever have imagined.
Love Always
Reflections 