I’ve always enjoyed cutting the grass and trimming the edges of my lawn. As a young teenager, I had my own lawnmower and would cut lawns around the neighborhood. As the years went by, I upgraded my equipment. I bought a trimmer, a blower, an edger, and other things like that. I always enjoy the work, the smell of the gasoline mower, and certainly the beautiful-looking lawn as a result of my efforts.
Even now, years later, I could pay someone to do the lawn, but I enjoy it, and I find it almost relaxing in a way at times.
I was doing some weed whacking the other morning and cut some areas that I don’t usually cut each time I mow the lawn. Some of the weeds were pretty overgrown, so I was getting in there pretty heavily. It was one of those times where you definitely had to wear pants instead of shorts!
As I approached the front of the house, there were still some bigger weeds, but I saw the statue of Saint Joseph planted right there. My Dad’s name was Joseph. My middle name is Joseph too as is my son’s, so I always admired the statue and certainly who and what Saint Joseph represents.
As I approached the statue with the weed whacker, I pulled my finger a little bit off the trigger to slow the plastic blades down, so I was able to control it a little more. I wanted to make sure that the plastic blades were not hitting the statue and causing damage. It still cut the weeds, but I just had to move it and adjust my angles a little differently while taking my finger off the trigger.
I actually paused and smiled as this blog formed in my head, thinking about the weed whacker and how I was using it just minutes prior. But as I approached Saint Joseph, I pulled back a little bit. It did the job perfectly without damaging the statue.
Think about this concept in your work life. Using the same tool but in a different manner. Think about a microphone and you’re speaking ability. Do you speak at the same volume and at the same speed all the time? Or do you vary your voice and the distance between the microphone? How close is your mouth to the capsule?
The different sounds, speed, and volume all reach the audience a little differently. It’s the same tool, but you occasionally use it a little differently.
Not every nail needs a hammer!
Remember this on your journey that sometimes it’s good to pull back. Patience and kindness will take you a lot further than brute force sometimes. Earlier in the day, while landscaping, I needed the brute force of the weed whacker, but when I needed to, I was able to pull back and still get the job done without damaging important parts in my yard, my man St. Joseph!
Keep surviving and thriving friends and thanks for your support! The blog has reached an all-time high, with almost 50% of its readers opening it. Thank you for this and for your support.
If you wouldn’t mind passing this blog on to a friend and asking them to sign up for the blog, and subscribe to my YouTube channel, I’d be most appreciative! Keep rolling, friends!
