“Sometimes we make things so complicated.” –Me
I confess–I am not a patient person. I thrive on efficiency and getting things done. I do not adjust well to changes, problems, obstacles or complications.
A small, but very real example–at my office, when it is time to open a ream of paper to refill the printer, I often have great difficulty opening the package of refill paper. It takes me at least a full minute to try to find an edge of the plastic packaging to begin the process of liberating the paper inside. One I find an edge, I slowly start tearing. And tear off a piece smaller than a dime. I’m not kidding. Every time. So, I go for another edge. And I tear. Another piece as small as a dime. At this point, I usually voice my frustration to my assistant or a colleague or anyone else willing to listen to my tirade about the inefficiency of the paper packaging. This is seriously such a big deal to me that my assistant now graciously opens plenty of paper at the start of each day to avoid hearing my ranting so that I do not have to.
Today, my assistant came into my office and said, “I’m really overwhelmed today with everything I have to do, but do you know what I can do? I can open the paper packaging. Would you like me to show you how?”
I bit. “Sure–how do you do it?”
She left my office and walked towards the printer, and returned with a package of the paper. She held it up and said, “See–it’s right here.”
She pointed to the packaging label. Right where it read, “Easy tab for opening.”
Oh, how I can complicate the simple things! How much stress and angst I can experience when I fail to slow down, take a deep breath, and simply behave rationally.
God, open my eyes to the simple things and prevent me from making them complicated.
