Keep Chopping Wood. Tuesday, May 23

Tuesday, May 23

As we pulled into a baseball tournament for one of my sons this weekend, I commented to my wife about how it’s nice not to have to worry about a slight bump the wrong way resulting in a flat tire. That’s because I’ve had nails in a couple of my tires for the past six months. And with that comes stress. “Will today be the day I walk out to a flat tire?”

Friday was that day. I walked out of the office to head home, got in my truck, and had a warning that a tire was low. I went and put air in it, then made plans to drop it off Saturday morning (I needed new tires anyway) before heading out to a tournament for our oldest. Saturday, the tire was even lower.

Why did I not just replace it at any point in the last few months? Why drive around with that constant amount of stress, even a tiny amount? Because it wasn’t convenient and was a risk I was willing to take. It wasn’t a priority until it was. Until it didn’t matter how inconvenient it was, fixing it was the only option.

Getting better and addressing our issues is the same way. Rather than addressing them before they are a real problem, we go about our day hoping that certain things don’t become an issue. Whether that’s our health, something with our leadership, finances, a relationship, or team culture, we tend not to do anything until it’s a significant concern. We live with the stress of it until we cannot ignore it. Because the issue will always come to light. It will eventually have to be the focus of your time, energy, and attention. And the longer you wait, the more this minor, easily fixable issue becomes a big problem. What wasn’t a priority will become your biggest priority.

Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. We can deal with the nails in our tires. We can have the difficult conversation, hold ourselves and others to the standard, address the gaps in our leadership, and do the work to improve. And while it may be inconvenient, it will be a tiny inconvenience today compared to what it will be tomorrow.

Take the necessary action to get better today.

​
Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin