How you do anything is how you do everything.
Read it again and let it sink in. I came across this quote recently and to be honest, it came at just the right time for me personally.
Because life has a way of grinding on all of us
And, if we aren’t careful, everyday tasks become monotonous and annoying.
We forget why we are doing them in the first place. They become just “things we have to get done.” And we start phoning it in. We feel resentful of them.
And, in many cases, we burn out.
And it’s not just in medicine that we burn out. We burn out in parenting. In our relationships with family and friends. With significant others. We can even burn out of our hobbies. And equally dangerous, we burn out in chasing out goals.
As a result, we become stagnant and feel stuck.
This is not something that might happen to you. It will happen to you. Because it happens to all of us at some points in our lives.
There are many factors to address
Whenever this happens, there are external and internal factors. Within each subset there are then the factors we can control and the ones we cannot. Overall, we need to just throw away and forget about the factors we cannot control.
But, for the things we can control, we should address them. Including the external factors.
However, right now, I’m focusing on the internal factors that we can control. And this is a huge one
How you do anything is the way you do everything
Human nature makes it difficult for us to titrate our standards or efforts.
It’s rare to encounter someone who is very diligent in their professional work and completely loose in their personal life. If you do meet someone like this, it is very likely they are struggling and having a bit of an identity crisis.
Do the small things in your life “the right way” and you will find it easier and more satisfying to do the bigger, more challenging things in your life “the right way.” No matter how hard that is.
But there’s another reason why focusing on doing every task to the best of your ability helps us when we are struggling. Taking pride in each of our actions helps remind us that what we do matters. If to no one else then it matters to us. How we do even the smallest, most menial task tells us about who we are and how we do things.
It’s why Admiral William H. McRaven talks about how important it is to make your bed.
So, it’s really twofold. How you do anything is the way you do everything because:
- It’s a snowball effect. Doing a small thing right creates a virtuous cycle of doing all things in our life “right.” Even if it’s hard.
and - Focusing on the small, menial, and even annoying tasks in our life and doing them well reminds us of the pride we can take and the grace we can show in even the littlest things in life. And what that means about us.
This is not easy, but it’s worth it
It takes work. Doing this is like working out and building up a muscle. It requires strain and effort.
You will need to remind yourself of this mindset and adopt it when your human nature wants you to do the opposite.
But I promise you that this works. It has for me!
So, the next time you are struggling and it feels like you are wading through waist high sand in life, tell yourself, “How I do anything, even this, is how I do everything.”
Mindset is a critical component is how we perceive life. How we perceive life influences our actions. And our actions determine what our life becomes. This is not a quick fix. Or even the only fix to burnout. But it is a necessary component.
So give it some practice!
And here are some other great mindset pieces for you to review:
- How to Win the Fight Against Analysis Paralysis
- Sorta Random Sunday: Enthusiasm vs. Endurance
- Sorta Random Sunday: The Longer You Stay in the Game, the Luckier You Get
- Sorta Random Sunday: The Difference Between Good and Bad Days
What do you think? IS how you do anything how you do everything? Why or why not? Have you even felt this way? What mindset work helped you? Let me know in the comments below!
