Right now social media is full of tips, resolutions, and blogs on how you can make changes as we start 2019. And I’m not an exception as I’ve pondered how am I going to start 2019 with making changes for the better in my life. My “Aha” moment came to me as I recently spent 15 minutes trying to find something on my work bench a few days ago; which reminded me of the dog sitting on the nail metaphor; where the dog spends the day howling on the porch because he is sitting on a nail, but it doesn’t hurt enough to get up and move. And thus, the question becomes: What nails are you sitting on that are causing you to howl and complain, but it doesn’t hurt quite enough to get you to move and doing something about it.
In hiking, we have a lot of weather nails during the winter. We don’t hike outside because it’s: too cold, snowy, and have less day light. Or it could be a job change that limits where we can hike during a given day. We howl and make up excuses not to hike; but then when the pants don’t fit, the scale number moves up, or we find ourselves being winded after 3 flights of stairs -the howling really starts. And that’s when we finally decide if we are going to get off the nail and get moving outside.
In my personal life, I’ve gotten comfortable sitting on the nails and have become blind/deaf to the howling I’m making. I yell and rant when it takes me 15 minutes to find something on my work bench, but then everything becomes OK as soon as I find it -until the next time that is. While we become blind/deaf to our own nails, at times we are quick to point out and judge others for the nails they are sitting on. Let’s be honest, how many times have you visited someone’s house and privately wondered “why don’t they fix/move/solve that ____?”.
At work, nails can hurt our productivity and can be around classes I know I need to take. While I know enough of Excel and Project to get my daily job done, there are times when I’ve spent way too much time looking for a work around for a function that exists, but I’ve always been “too busy” to take a class on that area. Or I get comfortable with the Project Management skills I have and don’t make the effort to learn and refresh the skills I have.
What are the nails you are still sitting on from 2018? What are you howling about? Now is a great time to start 2019 with some successes by getting off those nails. Granted some nails are easier to take care of; i.e., cleaning off and keeping your work bench free of clutter; while others are going to take a lot longer to take care of. So start with the quick fixes in your life, which will make some pain go away faster and build your confidence; then go after the ones that will take more time. Your family and those around you will become very grateful as they will no longer have to hear your howling about not being able to fit in your pants, find that hammer, or know how to work that Excel Pivot Table…
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Al Andersen 