The little things
Building blocks of greatness
Bob William Nkonjela, Lusaka, Friday, 17 May 2024 — in my pursuit of success, I have always wondered how great men and women become that way. Was it their upbringing? Were they more privileged than others? Were they biologically designed by the all-mighty to become great or was it simply blind luck? Different views from individuals may argue in support of or against the items mentioned and they may all be right to a certain degree. However, regardless of whatever reasons people attribute to the greatness of individuals, it is always certain that great men and women do “the little things” correctly.
What are the little things?
To understand what the little things are, we must first understand what the goal is. Greatness in different fields may require varied descriptions of what the little things are. Given my extensive experience working for a multi-national professional services firm, i am inclined to use progression in the corporate space as an example. If the goal is to climb the corporate ladder, the little things will include the following:
- Waking up early: do something that brightens your mood first thing in the morning. If you can perform your daily tasks gracefully without the need to be positive or happy, then that will give you a divine advantage over your competitors.
- Exercise regularly: a strong body is linked to a strong mentality. Daily exercise will not only improve your appearance but will give you the mental strength to overcome daily challenges.
Your first task of the day should be a win! This can include running a pre-determined distance or something as subtle as spreading your bed. Human beings have been designed to seek out dopamine – this is a hormone produced by the human body that plays a part in our sense of pleasure, reward, and motivation. Your body will get so addicted to winning and producing dopamine that you may start looking forward to completing daily tasks.
- Stay up to date with industry knowledge: this does not mean you have to be a bona fide scholar. It means you must be aware of what is happening in your field. This will greatly improve your quality of work and make you an asset to your employer.
- Give realistic work completion timelines: i personally have been caught in the trap of over promising on deliverables due to the pressure from management. However, over committing may risk you falling short of your promises, and this will paint a negative picture with your superiors. It is best to set a realistic timeline and highlight to your superiors the reason why work may not be delivered in the time they have specified. Best to have that difficult discussion than to be seen as a liar or lazy. Whenever possible, always aim to deliver work before it is requested for.
Ignoring the little things
Some may argue that certain people were destined for greatness as earlier mentioned. For example, people that inherit entire kingdoms from their parents. The argument is that these individuals did not really have to work or mind the little things to get to that position. This has some degree of truth, but it’s the little things that will help these individuals retain their greatness. What does this mean? I have allot of acquaintances that have inherited, riches and business empires from their late parents but only a handful have managed to keep the riches in the family. Most of them have ended up running the business down and this is due to their ignorance of the little things.
In my humble opinion, all they had to do to keep the businesses afloat is to understand the little things that their parents used to do to keep the businesses running and practice them iteratively. Then may be later, find innovative ways to grow their businesses if they so wished.
Ignoring the little things will give space for the formation of bad habits. This will not only slow down your efforts in your pursuit of greatness but will counter your efforts thereby leading you into mediocrity. Do not ignore the little things.
Conquer the world
You do not have to be the smartest person in the room to achieve greatness. Hard work always beats talent. This means a person that’s consistent with the little things will always beat the guy that has a natural understanding of the same task but is inconsistent.
James Clear (2023) says that to develop a habit, it takes an average of 66 days. This suggests that to automate the little things into your daily life, you must practice them for that long. Now imagine how much further you can strive for greatness when your unconscious actions alone are propelling you in the same direction – more so, given that over 90% of our brain’s activity is unconscious.
Conclusion
Greatness is seldom gained from ignoring the little things and can only be retained and amplified by practicing them iteratively.
Discipline is the order of the day. If you are disciplined enough to do the little things for long enough to form an unbreakable habit, then you are already a great individual as this alone positions you way ahead of your competition.
