As agreed, I met my father a mile away from home. This was a long time ago.
When I arrived, dad was still busy; just a couple of minutes later he finished. “Let’s go home”, he told me.
click to enlarge
“We’ll walk?!” I asked surprised – I knew he hadn’t arrived there on our car. “It’s like a mile distance!”
“Nonsense! It’s just a couple of blocks away” My father said and started to stride. I shuffled in a dazzled mode.
A couple of blocks later we stopped at a small market and had soft drinks.
“I thought you meant home” I said.
“We ARE going home” He said.
“But… home is far away”
“It’s not! Come on, it is only a few blocks ahead”
A few blocks later we stopped at the post office to check his mail (that’s the way it was done those days). Then we stopped at a shop, owned by a friend of the family, just to say hi.
Later we stopped at the drugstore to buy chocolates for mom and my brother and sisters; and then, at the bakery to buy bread. At that point we where ambling.
I don’t remember if we stopped elsewhere but I do remember it was too soon when we reached home.
In a very simple way, my father taught me a life tool, a strategy that has many applications:
1 – Setting your mind on the next stop, instead of the final goal, works effectively. Not because it’s easier to reach, but because it’s easier to assess.
2 – Far away goals allow laziness, fear, indecision and other ghosts to take part, acting as obstacles for assessment.
3 – Focusing on the next visible task works very well against confusion and indecision.
4 – Splitting a big a goal into many small tasks permits us to assign the right amount of time and effort for each step and provides a great motivation: several small victories.
5 – Instead of facing a big dragon, you face hundreds of mini dragons but, one mini dragon at a time (facing all the mini dragons at once is counterproductive, as you can imagine).
And…
6 – Being mindfully present in each stop of the track allows you to enjoy the trip, especially when you are in good company.
Hi there! I’m Gustavo and Frugal Science is about helping you rediscover your exploring nature and enjoying the benefits of looking life in a different way. Anybody can become a true explorer –it’s our nature-, all you need is a mindful attention and some frugal science.
Hi Gustavo,
I love this story! So powerful and such a great lesson. I see so many ways I can apply it to my life. Business included. Thank you for sharing it.
Sherri
Sherrie Koretke recently posted..Coaches and Consultants, Are You Making This Mistake?
Hi Gustavo,
I love this story! So powerful and such a great lesson. I see so many ways I can apply it to my life. Business included. Thank you for sharing it.
Sherrie
Sherrie Koretke recently posted..Coaches and Consultants, Are You Making This Mistake?
Thank you, Sherrie! I’m glad you find it useful.
gustavo recently posted..Life tools: the best tip for making the distance.
Wow, Gustavo, I love this story. It’s not only full of life lessons, but it’s also, on its own, a great story well told. How I wish life was still like that. It was when I was little. I didn’t walk around with my daddy, but my friends and I were within walking distance of a strip mall with a dance studio I worked out at and a drugstore where we used to buy a drink and sneak peaks into True Confessions magazines and comic books. We had woods to play in and explore, driveways to roller skate on and enough friends to have fun. Boy, did you just send me on a memory. Thanks, Gustavo.
Ann recently posted..4 Insights into Successful Marketing
What a great comment, Ann! I enjoyed your experiences as mine. I really hope all this new technology doesn’t ruin the pleasure of just walking around.
gustavo recently posted..Life tools: the best tip for making the distance.
Groovy!
Yay!
Actually, what your father was teaching you was even more profound.
1. The journey is often as critical as the destination.
2. Choose intermediate steps in your journey that enhance your day, your life, and restore your energy.
3. Sometimes you can’t explain certain steps to your co-travelers; that does not mean they won’t enjoy or benefit from accompanying you.
Roy A. Ackerman, PhD, EA recently posted..Intersections
Gustavo, this is such a powerful life lesson. I often get bogged down trying to see the end instead of taking things a step at a time. This comes as a useful reminder at just the right time. Thank you.
Andra Watkins recently posted..Butt Scooting Boogie
I love the term mindfully present. Life is so busy that we do forget to live today. And funny how in your dad’s day, he actually had a few less stresses than we suffer,
Roberta Budvietas recently posted..Priorities Setting in Business is Critical for Success
Thank you Gustavo.
Maybe one more thought – enjoy the journey.
Take care.
Dale M.
Dale Myers recently posted..6 Leadership Learnings from My Yoga Teacher
I agree, it is easy to get distracted while pursuing a far away goal. In smaller steps, focus is of greater degree!
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Thank you, Andra! I’m glad you find it useful.
I think you’re right, Roberta! Nowadays, distraction thrives everywhere; thus, being mindfully present is harder.
You’re right, Dale! It’s all about enjoying the ride.
That’s the idea, Harish! Thank you for the visit and for commenting.
gustavo recently posted..Life tools: the best tip for making the distance.
Great story, that has many applications in business. My daily to-do list has about 7 – 15 tasks on them, but they are usually part of a bigger goal. Thanks for the advice!
Hey Gustavo,
It reminds me of a reminder by Will Smith.
When you build a wall you don’t set out to build the biggest, greatest wall. You start out by laying the first brick “as perfect as a brick can be laid” ; you keep doing that and soon you’ll have a wall.
Rome wasn’t built in a day….after all
best
Akos
Akos Fintor recently posted..The Truth About Blog Commenting and Being REAL
Love this story, Gustavo. It’s a great insight to remember when starting out on any journey. It reminds me of the old proverb: the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!
Thanks for sharing this neat lesson from your father.
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Hi Steve.
That’s another great wy to put it. Thanks!
That’s exactly the idea. We can only do as much as put one brick at the time; we might as well learn to enjoy that task. Thanks Akos.
Thank you for the visit and for commenting.
Hi Gustavo,
I used to try to do all of my goals as quick as I could so that way I could follow through on them but this also caused me to rush through them.
I take them one at a time now and don’t get too far ahead of myself either.
Justin Mazza recently posted..Unresolved Trauma – You Need to Let It Go
That’s a wise thing to do, Justin! It’s when you take one thing at the time that you find time to enjoy the journey.
Gustavo recently posted..Life tools: the best tip for making the distance.
This made me smile, Gustavo. My kids and my crew and I always have places to go, and we always travel by foot or by bus. We take the long way
Along the way, we have conversations and learn things and question things and feed our brains and (usually) enjoy each other’s company more fully than we otherwise would. It really is about the journey 
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