One of the critical things is we about growing old is not being able to track where you’ve been and what you done. This is practically because ewe fail to give attention to details. Ask the average mean what’s happened to them just a few days back and see how they look lost trying to figure out the very life they claim to have lived.
The amazing this is that so many have run themselves into trouble simply for missing out on little things. I remember watching a movie once I think that must be on Ethiopian airline while traveling to Nairobi. Can’t forget the title of that movie starring Denzel Washington- The Little things. The moral unfit from that movie is the fact that the little things actually make the biggest difference.
If you fail to pay attention to details, you will get detained in life. Think about the moments when looking for the key to your room kept you out for hours loosing productive time and possibly getting sad and angry with the people you love.
The Bible shares something profound about this when it says the little foxes spill the vine. You don’t need to commit a very grievous offense to damage your reputation. Just a little sun is enough. It may not be once but an accumulation of those little things mount up in a way you never got to know until they out grow you.
In my journey I’ve seen how missing out on details has messed up my plans. Story here…to illustrate this
Let’s take a look at how we can pay attention to details
1. Never take anything or anyone for granted – thinking that somethings don’t matter can become a major challenge. In science we were told that matter is anything that has weight and occupies space. Let that definition guide you. If it can weigh you done or take space then pay attention to it. Let me also add that all people matter. The very persons you think are not important to you today may become crucial to your life’s destiny in the future.
2. Learn to keep records – this is one area many of us are challenged. I grew up thinking that having a diary to keep your daily activities was a way to learn how to keep records of wrongs. But that’s not all a diary is for. It helps you keep tracks if the journey you take through life. Some people call journaling but whatever you chose to call it keep records of happenings in your life. Take pictures if you can; of course that’s even easier with all the smart phones we now have. Find a way to for things that interest you. I’ve been blessed tremendously by notes that took years back and had to pull them out for my sessions as a speaker and trainer.
3. Be calm with yourself and with life – serenity is of great value. As grow along and get older, be wise to know that walking through life calmly will help you enjoy the life you have. This may sound funny but I’ll share it. Coming from a humble background, we used to sometimes have to eat from the same bowl with a number of us seating all around the meal. Only the fastest of us could eventually get enough to eat so young as we were, we mastered the art swallowing food without properly chewing it. Well what that meant was that we never really enjoyed the food. We never really had the full taste of it. The best of our meal was lost because we did not pay attention to details. When you hurry through life, you may do more but your impact will be shallow. If you are a speaker like myself, speaking fast will make people loose the juicy part of what you age to share. So take it easy, be calm.