Then don’t fix it…..Pretty simple message and for the most part, very accurate. It’s often the simple stuff that makes the most sense. It provides clarity and hits the bullseye almost every time. When I was a kid, I remember saying, more than once, “Hey, Dad, it hurts when I do this,” and he would look me in the eye, smile, and say, “Then don’t do that”. He was right. Keeping things simple, not overthinking, not dwelling on ‘it’, not adding layers to the process, reduces or eliminates complications. We don’t have time for that. Can you really improve or change something that is already functioning at 100%? Probably not, but we often feel compelled to try. From time to time, I am guilty about this. In my head, I think there’s got to be a better way. If I don’t make that attempt, am I compromising my own success? Am I settling for mediocrity? Am I stunting my own attempt at innovation? Maybe so, maybe not, and if I don’t try to reinvent my wheel, how can I possibly know?
I always want the best outcome, so I feel I must keep looking for the ‘better’ way. Looking for a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist except in my own head can really be an exercise in futility. That will be a waste of effort, a fool’s errand. That’s a clear mark of failure. Not the outcome I have in mind, so maybe I’ll back off and accept it for what it is; fixed and not broken.
