33. It is not the mountains ahead that wear you out.

The second poster that hung in my office for many years read, "It is not the mountains ahead that wear you out, it is the grain of sand in your shoe." Over the years I have reflected upon that lesson and found it to be so true. It is not the large problems or situations that are the most difficult, but the tiny ones that may pop up or were not addressed or anticipated.

In my personal life, I encountered many examples. Often when I was doing some handyman work (and I use the term loosely) this truth was driven home. For example, if you were going to paint a large living room you soon learn that painting hundreds of square feet of wall is no big job actually. The problem is the number of small issues that take twice as much time as the painting - filling holes, sanding, taping baseboards, removing light switch plates, and cleaning up when you are finished. In the same vein, wallpapering a small bathroom takes longer with all of the plumbing, taps, backsplash, toilet waterlines, and baseboards that must be accommodated, than painting the Sistine Chapel would take.

In my work life, there were also numerous examples. Having to make a presentation to a large group can be daunting. I would work very hard gathering information, writing a draft, revising it, practising my delivery and preparing for every eventuality. I wanted to do a good job. When the time for my presentation arrived all of my efforts went for naught on two occasions. In one instance the microphone would not work and thus I was forced to almost yell rather than make a controlled delivery. On the second occasion, on a presentation using many overhead visuals, the projector light burned out and there was no replacement. It wasn't the hours of work preparing that wore me out it, was the two flies in the ointment that nearly ruined everything.

As we walk the road of life we are often daunted by a mountains-like challenge that we must sometimes face. Many times we persevere and are successful. Other times the tiny grain of irritating sand in our shoe can cause much more pain and discomfort.