Cutting Corners

   Good Morning Friends! This week I have been thinking about projects, because lately, I've been doing a lot of them, both personally, remodeling bathrooms and bedrooms, and professionally, launching a new book this weekend. And the truth is, and my husband and son can attest to this; I'm not exactly the world's most patient person. It's easy to start a project with excitement and a vision of where it is headed. But sometimes we get halfway through the project and we just want it to be done. We get impatient, wanting the end result without having to go through the difficult and tedious steps to achieve it. 

  The problem is, often when we start to get impatient is when we cut corners to try to get to our results faster. For example, I don't mind painting, but if given the choice I would definitely skip taping if I could. And truthfully, I did. I got half the bathroom taped and said, "Forget it. I'll just paint carefully."  I'm sure you can all guess how well that turned out. When we get impatient and skip steps, we often make mistakes that cost us time and energy, and that could have been avoided had we just done the step by step work. 

  Consider that fad diet that gets you to your goal weight quickly but isn't sustainable. This is an example of skipping the steps of eating right and exercising as a lifestyle. Making these habits a routine is challenging, and it may take longer to get results, but in the end you will be better off doing this "project" the right way, rather than rushing to get the end result. 

  Being patient and following through for the duration of the project is a skill that will serve us well in life. Our lives themselves, are, in fact, a project. We are all working on some goal or dream, and often those take longer than we expect, but if we can stay the course and keep taking the tedious steps, we will achieve the end results without the struggle and frustration of skipping steps and making mistakes.  

  No matter what project you are working on today, keep the end goal in mind and don't rush through it. Be in the journey and take one step at a time. The results will be much better if you stay the course and don't cut corners. Be patient with yourself and what you're working on. I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.L.W.