I mowed my lawn on Saturday afternoon but with so much rain the week before, I needed to mow it a second time on Sunday afternoon. As a self-diagnosed perfectionist when it comes to my lawn, I ended up double-cutting and bagging it, just to make it look nice.
When I was done, I sat on the patio and enjoyed a few beers while admiring my hard work and waited for any neighbors who passed by to tell me my lawn looked great.
The reality is, that I’m going to need to mow the lawn again this week.
I took my car through the car wash last week to clean off the multiple layers of pollen, bird crap, and over 400 miles of road insects from a week of driving around Cincinnati for coaching sessions.
It felt good to drive away from the car wash knowing that my car was shiny and pollen/crap/insect-free for the next 12 hours or so.
The reality is, that I’m going to need to wash my car again this week.
It reminded me of an old story about a Rabbi and a Soap Maker that goes like this…
There is an old Jewish tale about a soap maker who did not believe in God. One day as he was walking with a rabbi, he said, “There is something I cannot understand. We have had religion for thousands of years. But everywhere you look there is evil, corruption, dishonesty, injustice, pain, hunger, and violence. It appears that religion has not improved the world at all. So I ask you, what good is it?”
The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually, they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt.
“There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?”
The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose.”
The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”
Sometimes we do things knowing we’re going to have to do them again tomorrow, next week, or next month, but we do them anyway. We do things because we know it’ll give us the results we are wanting, needing, or expecting.
Do things for the short-term benefit they could provide. Do things for the possibility of it helping you get closer to a goal. Do the things that will reward you with a feeling of success. Then get ready to do those things again tomorrow, next week, or next month.
Make that call. Then make another tomorrow.
Send that handwritten note. Then send another tomorrow.
Schedule that breakfast, coffee, lunch, or happy hour meet-up. Then schedule another for tomorrow.
Build relationships, solve problems, and have fun today. Then do the same things tomorrow.
The lawn isn’t going to mow itself.
