- The brakes in your car are loose. You have to push the brake pedal down hard for the traction to kick in. What will happen when you don’t get the brakes fixed. Very likely, you will get into an accident.
- There is a niggle in your relationship. A harsh word is exchanged, or a condescending remark is passed. You and your partner or colleague or boss don’t have an open conversation to resolve the build-up of tension. Before long, the relationship gets to the point of no return.
- You have a nagging back spasm that you ignore, and very soon, it morphs into a chronic back problem. You are now told that the surgery is the only option.
- The organization is not growing revenues, and there is constant chatter about some people being let go. You survive the first round of redundancies. But, the organization continues to struggle quarter on quarter until one day it’s your turn at the corporate guillotine.
- Your diabetes or cholesterol markers are borderline. You ignore the signals and go on as if nothing is wrong. You don’t change your eating habits until you become a full-blown diabetic or have a heart attack.
Every Big Problem Always Starts Small.
Unfortunately, we often ignore the minor problems thinking, “it’s not a big deal.” Or worse still, we don’t even think something is a problem in the first place. And then, one day, we have a full-blown crisis on our hands.
Wisdom is in recognizing the small niggling issues and sorting them out before they manifest into something Big.
All you require at your end is strong situational awareness and a healthy dose of paranoia.
Remember this simple philosophy. Your ability to manage the big problems successfully is directly linked to how you deal with and resolve the small ones.
If you are going through a big problem in your life right now, have the humility to acknowledge that you probably had the opportunity to nip the problem when it was small, and you either ignored it or didn’t notice it.
The Devil is always in the small problems. Deal with them early. A stich in time saves nine.