Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Everything Matters
I watched a fascinating interview with Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz about a month ago, and have been thinking about it ever since. Among other things, he said that one of his business philosophies is Everything Matters. The details count. How we do anything, is how we do everything.
At first I explored the opposite way of thinking, that nothing matters, and quickly became depressed. While not sweating the small stuff is wise, that doesn't necessarily mean that the small stuff doesn't matter. There is a paradox in that, and therein lies the lesson, I think.
We know for a fact that energy cannot be created or destroyed, and we're all just carrying it, moving it, spreading it and re-arranging it all the time, so it stands to reason that how we do anything, has far-reaching ripples. The energy that we put into the things we do, matters. Everything matters.
So, while we are busy not being busy sweating the small stuff, that's more of an energetic release of the anxiety around the "small," not an abandonment of our intentions around things that are "small." At least that's where I've landed on the issue for the time being.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. What matters?
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6 comments:
For me, I've been finding that instead of dealing with all the details of something that it's better just to assume that everything will all work out.
And it does work out. Usually the LESS I mess with something/think about it/fix it, the better off everything is.
Life has become more of a sit-back-and-observe kind of a thing. And it's not about being lazy and uninvolved, it's more about just doing whatever is in front of me at the moment.
Hmmm, I think he's right. Everything matters. And that doesn't mean that every detail is as important as every other detail, but that when you take them all together, they add up to complete the whole. So I don't have to spend as much energy or time thinking about each and every piece, but when and where I do put my energy serves as intention and it ought to be planful and mindful.
I think about lots of things when I hear "everything matters." I think about how sometimes it's the really small stuff that goes wrong that breaks you in two, even when you've been dealing with really BIG stuff. Because everything matters. I think about a school I've long dreamed of having for Sophie. It would be called the Just Because School. The school would be beautiful, have ample space to wander, lots of nature, music, art, academics for those who could benefit from them, gardens, good food, animals, etc. The children and young adults would not be expected to do anything or achieve anything but would attend JUST BECAUSE. Everything matters. Just because everything matters.
Geez. I'm sorry to have written a blog post here! But, you did ask! :)
Lately, in the midst of my b usy daily life, I have found myself recognizing that "it's the little things that make a difference." I am always grateful when I am present to the "little things, that make a nice difference. Most recently, it was simply a well placed doorstop, installed by a very thoughtful person. that doorstop would have made a nice difference in a small important way for the last 4 years! Here's to the "little things" that matter!
Love matters. Everything else is TFBS.
When I first went to work for Disney, I hated it because of the amount of attention to detail on the "small stuff"; but it made me realize that just because I wasn't good at thinking through the details, it didn't mean that they didn't matter. They did, I just needed help in attending to them. That was eye-opening for me.
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