Mowing

Using a lawnmower wasn’t a skill I possessed until my late thirties.  Admittedly, I dodged this task by virtue of having a dad who enjoyed the outdoors and liked mowing.  Later, my brothers assumed this task and eventually I married a man who was meticulous in the lawncare department.  To reveal the depth of my ineptness, I will share about the first time I was asked to mow.  My father-in-law at the time asked me to start the mower.  Eager to help, I went to the garage to rev up the engine.  However, there was no “ON” button for me to push.  I searched and searched, but alas I was defeated.  I came back inside and told him about my lack of success.  Being a wonderful human being, he simply smiled and chuckled.  He assured me it was okay and took care of it.  Missing my opportunity to learn from a pro, I went about my merry way.  Only years later when I purchased my own lawnmower did I realize what a dolt he must have thought he inherited for a daughter-in-law.  It was a good lesson in the power of allowing a naïve gal to save face.

Fast forward to my late thirties when I was newly single and needed to manicure the lawn.  I went to the local hardware store and trapped an unsuspecting salesperson.  He didn’t know what he was stumbling upon when he decided to help me purchase this lawnmowing beast.  But he quickly assessed that I had no clue what I was doing (which was given away when he said, “You really have NEVER mowed a lawn before?!”).  Thankfully, he decided I was his newfound project.  He took me everywhere in the store to teach me about the oil it uses, where to fill the gas, how to tell when the blades need sharpening, and basically how to avoid losing any digits in the process of cutting the grass.  It was here that I also learned that mowers are started with a pull-chord and not a magic button I was previously searching for.  He was a good man. 

When we ended our adventure together, he said, “If you were my daughter, I’d tell to enjoy the process of mowing the lawn.”  Apparently, my doubtful look gave me away, because then he said, “It’s one of the few beautiful things in life where you instantly get to see the benefit of your handiwork.  Take this approach and I promise you’ll feel differently about mowing your lawn.” 

To my shock, he was right.  Every pass I made across my lawn was proof of my effort.  As I went along, I noticed that the smell of the grass was amazing.  The sun was energizing, and I was getting a few extra steps in for the day.  After I finished the task, I decided to think about other areas where the same thing applies and folding laundry and shoveling snow both came to mind.  With laundry, the smell of fresh clothes and seeing the neatly folded piles is rewarding.  With shoveling, the fresh air and soaking in the pure white of clean snow is incredible.

These are only a few examples but the lesson can be expanded upon.  When we take tasks and decide to look for areas of incremental completion and the gifts given along the way, it changes how it feels to embark upon it.  If there is a book to read, chunk the assignment by chapters.  If there is a report that is due, break it down into palatable sections.  Create to-do-lists for the mental sake of feeling the euphoria of checking things off.  Even simply making the bed in the morning can set a positive tone for the entire day.

And in the process of tackling a new task, you just might learn something cool like a lawnmower starts by using a bit of brute strength powered with the ingenuity of physics.

Changepoints:

Consider the steps of mowing the lawn, folding laundry, of shoveling snow:

·        What similar steps could be applied in your personal or professional life?

·        How would an incremental approach change the way you view tasks in your life that you’d rather avoid?

·        Who do you have in your inner circle who would be able to help you set goals and the subset steps required to complete them?

·        What are the first tasks you can set about accomplishing?

o   How does seeing visual completion of a step help create motivation for the next step?

o   How could achievement of these tasks lead to bigger dreams?

 

Like mowing a lawn, achieving most goals is accomplished one step, one pass, one row at a time.

outSIGHTin, LLC: Creating awareness as a changepoint for improved organizational results.