Image Courtesy of Samuel Globus
Ever notice how strongly effectiveness is correlated with understanding? I remember when I first picked up a golf club and tried to replicate a Phil Mickelson drive I'd observed on TV. I cocked my body like a baseball player preparing for a pitch and muscled through the ball with all the power I had. Needless to say, it was a disaster. It continued that way until I began to learn the differences between a golf and baseball swing. The more nuances I've learned, the better I've become (albeit still very poor). I can still hear the voice in my head "let the club do the work!" Like a golf club serves a unique purpose which can only be executed well with a certain level of know-how, so is the case for most of the tools we utilize from day to day. Whether a hammer, an emotion, or a planning strategy, it's crucial that we take a step back and ask ourselves:
1) What function was this intended for?
2) How is this best utilized or operated?
3) What role would it best play right now in this situation?
It seems obvious, but remember that most of a day's frustrations result from an expectations gap. We expect X and instead get Y. We swing the driver like a baseball bat and expect to see our golf ball bounce down the middle of the fairway just past the 300 yard post, but instead it veers off like a line drive and splashes into a pond 55 yards to your side.
What frustrations are you experiencing today? What tools, if better understood, would help get better results.