Sometimes you sit and wonder how the hell you got to where you did. You wonder if the things in your life really happened and start to question and realize the significance of every small event.
What if I would have just went to sleep that night, what if I didn’t go for that walk, what if I never said hi to this girl, what if…what if… what if..
If you believe anything Wayne Dyer and many other spiritual teachers preach, then you would blindly accept the fact that everything that happened to you, happened for a reason, could not have happened any other way, and the evidence is that it happened. No matter what you do you cannot change any single event in your life that’s in the past.
Perhaps you find comfort in religion and “Gods Plan”. Maybe you’re into Celestine Prophecy type things where your intuition guides you to your lifes ultimate purpose. Maybe, maybe, and maybe…
But no matter how many if’s and maybes there are, you can’t help but look back at some of the things that happened in your life and just say “wow…how the fuck…” Everyday I’m alive there’s something that’s just so mind boggling it’s insane.
On a trip to Michigan about a year and a half ago, I had an entire life plan and purpose. I was going there to buy a house and move my family there. On the way, for whatever reason, not more than 1 hour away I decided to text a girl I had only met through facebook to see if she wanted me to stop in and say hi. That’s it, just say hi, never really had more than 10 minutes of conversation with her, and the conversation we had wasn’t about much.
That’s it, of a 32 hour drive with a life purpose, I just randomly decided to text and ask her if she wanted me to say hi. She could have said no or not responded, I mean there are an infinite amount of events and circumstances that could have changed this simple gesture. I could have been delayed, driving at night, etc, but it just so happens I was coming through at an appropriate time. She said yes, she’d meet me, but if I was just even 10 minutes earlier or later, she might have not had time. It’s weird how these things work.
I could have changed my mind on the last hour to her city and she could have done the same but she didn’t. So I stopped in and said hi. Turns out I wouldn’t be saying good bye for quite some time. Turns out I was about to meet the most beautiful girl my eyes had ever seen. Turns out we hit it off so good that I’m not quite sure many relationships like that exist. Turns out I would fuck that flawless perfect relationship up as well just months later. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Small events and things transpire into life changing experiences. And that’s the topic of discussion today.
There are books written with titles such as “don’t sweat the small stuff”, as well as, countless books and advice that says not to worry about the little things. Sure, don’t worry about the little things, but I’m going to tell you today, and as you already know, its the compilation of little things that make all the difference in your life. It’s the simple, itty bitty things that you might not think matters that makes all the difference. It’s the trash you didn’t take out, it’s the date night you missed, it’s the flower you didn’t buy, and it’s all the small things. While small things might not matter to you, they are big things to other people and do. Like Blink 182 says in there song “all the small things”
Late Night, come home
Work Sucks, I know
She left me roses by the stairs
Surprises let me know she cares
You see ignoring the small things is the equivalent of making a few small errors in judgment and if you make a few small errors in judgment repetitively it ends in disaster.
One fight, one word, one argument, one look, all of it can be devastating. It might not have a devastating effect immediately, but years down the road or months, when you’re alone and you don’t understand why, just remember, it was all the small stuff.
In my story, the significant impactual event was just the simple act of me stopping and saying hi. A common gesture that many people say throughout the day, but it’s not the only example. You have your own stories. Perhaps you were scheduled to go to an event and didn’t and met someone or something happened, perhaps you weren’t going to go but at the last minute decided you were going to, and something happened. Life is paved with intuitively spontaneous happenings.
In professional sports its the game winning touch down pass or jump shot that gets all the attention but the reason these big events can transpire is because of all the small things. The guy who made a block to give the quarterback more time, every small thing that everyone did on that team for the entirety of the game led them to the point where they were in a position to throw a game winning touch down or to make a game winning jump shot. Michael Jordan got credit for many game winning shots but he didn’t score all of the teams points, didn’t make all the passes, and didn’t get all the rebounds; it’s all the small things that add up.
This is what I want to bring to your attention today. All the small things that maybe you say fuck it to or maybe you don’t think matter, they do matter. In most cases they matter more than the big things.
That walk, that talk, that book you didn’t finish; walk, talk, and finish it. Say I love you to those that matter. Do special things no matter how small to people that are important in your life. Eat well, think well, and move well. If you can’t die today without regrets, then you’re not doing something right. I ask myself that question very frequently. “If I died right now, would I have any regrets?” Lately my answer is yes, but there have been many points in my life while getting on a plane when it’s been no. I was complete. It’s a great feeling to know that if you died right now, you would have no regrets. Nothing you didn’t say, nothing you didn’t do, and nothing else you ever wanted.
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