#16 Small Matters, Big Problems

A minor hitch can grow into severe glitch if it is not properly managed

     Back then when I was younger, I had a very nonchalant attitude. I ended up having the kitchen stoves unchecked, the door locks improperly secured, working halfway and go AWOL. My parents strictly condemned my acts but those rebukes were never effective in morphing my transgressions. It was never – at least until I started working outside and had a real taste of the hostile working environment.

     At home, I have almost everything panned out for me and did not realize the labour behind all the perfectness. While working for an employer, my works was expected to be near perfect and faultless. I rarely had the time to take a break in between working hours or simply apply for leave according to my wish. That’s the brutality of working outside, I recalled.

Avoid tense situation, don't let problems exaggerate

     It is because of my insouciant and carefree attitude towards every detail in my life that resulted in difficulties in adapting to the society. The point is, if we can learn something meaningful in advance, don’t wait and delay until the eleventh hour.

     This is because we only get to know something the moment we feel we need that particular skills at certain point of our lives, it may be well too late. Because a problem usually appear to be small and irrelevant at first, only to propagate and magnified as time passes.

     Just as what I did in my younger times, I felt that all the unsecured door locks, unchecked stoves was insignificant. Only when I started meeting people then I began to realize the importance of taking every minor details in life in earnest.

     In reality, there are dozens of instances where a serious problem arise from the smallest conflicts – ever. One of them could apply to the conflicts in communication between human. Even when there are slight misunderstandings in a conversation, the tension would escalate between both parties if it is not resolved harmoniously.

     At this point, the tension would lead to an exchange of hostilities perhaps to a critical extent. Richard Templar, in The Rules of Life say almost the same thing: ‘‘Retaliation can only lead to an escalation of hostilities in a conflict’’. Templar believes that retaliation does not promote accord, it evokes resentment.

     The same rule applies to every aspect of our lives indeed. Just to think of this example to make us understand better. A tiny flaw or any imperfection to a building structure makes the designs fragile. If something is not done to correct it, a bigger problem would occur. The problem with most of us is that often, we learn about damage limitation but not the ways to cease small matters from evolving to become big problems.

     It sounds incredibly boring if I merely include all the facts and life experiences in my blog posts. Sometimes, even the simplest of stories can provide the most meaningful way to guide us to get what we want in life.

By: Vincent Ti