How’s That Working Out for You? “Hammers and Floor Tiles?”

Sometimes we make some pretty stupid mistakes. We’re all reasonably smart people so, how does that happen? How do smart people do such dumb things? Stupid mistakes most often happen when we fail to accept our own limitations. We all have limitations. It is not possible to have prepared for everything that can come at us! Try as we may, there are many experiences that are beyond what we have observed before. And, if we are really honest, we cannot be expected to know what to do when the situation is truly novel. If we can find someone who has successfully dealt with such a situation, we would be wise to seek their counsel. If we cannot find someone, we should at least do some research.

The biggest mistake that is often made is trying to apply previous, unrelated experience to a novel situation. Just because your favorite solution has worked well for other problems does not mean it will work on a never before experienced problem. Just because you are extremely competent and comfortable using a hammer does not make it the right tool for cutting floor tiles! Similarly, just because you are outstanding at selling a product does not mean you will be an outstanding creator of new products. It doesn’t mean you cannot become a good or even great creator of new products. But selling does not automatically lead to creating. And the skills needed for selling existing products are not the skills needed for creating new products. The mistake is not in our inability. The mistake lies is our assumption that our best skills can be applied in every situation.

I have seen way too many people trying to cut floor tiles with hammers! This is how too many people go about their relationships. Whether it’s your personal or professional life, because an approach works with some people does not mean it will work with all. And because your approach doesn’t work with some people doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with those people. The greatest problems we face in life are relational. Problems associated with the physical world are much easier to solve than are our people problems. We all (yours truly included) need to get help once-in-a-while. Before we start applying old solutions to new problems, we need to seek guidance and assistance. We all need to be open to a new way. Let’s put down our hammers and look for a better tool for cutting our floor tiles!