Profit from the trivial

No, this is not about those coincidental "run-ins" that you have with people who are somehow connected with someone you know (e.g., "Oh, so you’re Robert’s cousin’s friend’s wife! What a small world! I’m Robert’s sister’s boyfriend’s fling!")

Not that kind of a small world. This short piece is literally about the "small things" in life. The so-called "trivial stuff," the stuff that we’re constantly told not to sweat over.

You see, I’ve been reading this book called Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. In a nutshell, it tells you not to worry about the so-called trivial things in life. Like when your wife is having a bad day and she nags you as if there’s no tomorrow. Or when you get out of your house, ready to go to work, and you suddenly discover you have a flat tire and you have a meeting with a big client in 10 minutes. The whole idea of the book is to advise you on how you should let those little bothersome things slide, how you should let go and be free from all the bad feelings that these irritating situations cause.

I’m not putting it down. I think it’s a great book. It’s a must-read. It does help me whenever I have those cute little spats with my wife. (See, I’m already applying the principles that I’ve learned from the book by calling our fights "cute little spats" instead of "violent and ballistic head-on collisions.") However, I must add this: whether we like it or not, the small things do count – and yes, we should be mindful of them all the time.

Small Beats Big!

Around this time two years ago, we had another tumultuous change in our already battle-scarred political history. We kicked out a larger-than-life (because of the sheer size of his waistline), has-been movie idol President, and, in his place, catapulted a barely four-foot-11-inch lady to take his place. That in itself should tell you that we should never take the small things in life for granted.

But apart from that, let’s analyze what really brought about this change in leadership. Does anyone still remember? That’s right, it was brought about by People Power 2. Geez…feels like it happened 50 year ago. So many things have happened since then. Anyway, class, do you remember what brought about this People Power 2? Correctamundo! It was the Senate’s 11-10 vote. This was the vote that decided that a particular bank envelope (the one that supposedly contained evidence that Erap was indeed guilty of the charges) should not be opened because it would violate the rules on evidence.

Imagine that. Because of one small, stupid, ordinary, brown, envelope, a president was kicked out of Malacañang. And history was changed forever. In fact, if you go a little further, it wasn’t even the envelope that was the issue. It was actually the glue or that strip of tape that sealed it. Remember, the issue was: Could we or could we not unseal that darn envelope? That’s what made all the Senators wrack their brains. That’s what made everyone hold his breath. That’s what caused the prosecution lawyers to walk out. That’s what caused Senator Tessie Oreta to do her now famous "jig of joy." And that’s what caused thousands of people to go to the streets and speak their minds. And the rest, as they say, is – ho-hum – history.

So, what’s the equation here: Strip of tape equals change in president. Wow! And they say the small stuff doesn’t count!

Big vs. Small

True, we often allow ourselves to get bogged down by the small, trivial things that really don’t matter in the end. Because of these endless squabbles about things that don’t matter, we sometimes forget what most people refer to as "the big picture."

But the difficult thing is answering this: What is big and what is small?

Sometimes, when I write an article and I feel it’s really a good piece, an observant guy would write me and say, "Do you realize that you misspelled a name?" And boom! There goes my ego. There I was, beaming with pride for having written what to me is a masterpiece, and here comes a nerd to ruin my day. Misspelling a word, to me, is a minor thing, but not for Mr. Spelling Bee Champion. But I do see his point. If I’m careless enough to misspell a name, there is a chance that I may not be that careful with respect to the other points in my article.

It’s just like writing business letters. I get a lot of proposals. And some of them are good ones. But if the letter is addressed to "Rod Nepumoceno (note: the spelling of my family is N-e-p-o-m-u), I get really ticked. The thought that runs in my mind is: "If they can’t get THAT detail right, maybe they can’t be that detailed when they service me as a client." I may still meet with the person who sent it, but I’ll be a bit wary. And that’s too bad because my being "too suspicious" could have been avoided if he had been more careful. Yup, the small stuff does matter at work.

Or, when I’m busy at work, negotiating a big deal for example. Then my wife calls me and says, "Honey, Bacon didn’t eat his food today." (By the way, Bacon is our dog). And I’ll snap back, "Hon, I’m in the middle of something important here, can’t this wait?" To me, it’s a small, minor thing that can be solved by bringing the little rascal to the vet. But to my wife, it’s not a small matter since Bacon is our "little baby." He is our current bundle of joy. And frankly, my wife doesn’t give a hoot as to who I’m meeting with or what the meeting’s about. If Bacon is sick, that is a big thing for her. And it is for me too – that is, if I’m home and not doing anything. But in the middle of a big presentation, a dog that refuses to eat just isn’t big news. In fact, during major presentations, a lot of things all of sudden become – well, small. I mean, what do I tell the client? "Sorry, gotta cut this presentation, our dog needs to eat."

Goodbye deal. And perhaps, goodbye, job! But the thing is, it’s hard to judge it on that basis alone. The "bigness" or "smallness" of situations is relative. It could be small for you but big for some people who are "big" in your life. And if a small thing matters in a big way to people who are "big" in your life, it becomes big too, doesn’t it?

It’s pretty much like basketball. Size is relative. If you were going to play basketball in your park and you had to pick one teammate, and the choices were two NBA retirees – 7’7" Manute Bol or the 5’3" Mugsy Bogues, a person who doesn’t know much about basketball would choose Manute Bol, hands-down, because of his sheer size. And yet, Mugsy will kill Manute Bol with sheer talent. In the basketball expert’s world, Mugsy Bogues is much bigger than the beanpole Manute Bol. Being physically small in basketball doesn’t necessarily make you "small" in stature.

What’s the moral of the story here? Yes, there is wisdom in not sweating the small stuff too much. But whatever you do, whether it pertains to your love life or work or spiritual life, being aware and taking care of the small details can lead to big things. For example, I know a lot of corporate leaders who are very impressed with people who are very detailed with their reports, where all the numbers, up to the last cent, are carefully analyzed and accounted for. I know a lot of girls who get swept away by the "small things" that a guy does or gives – poems, short notes on pieces of paper, or the simple gesture of opening a door. And I know that Our Lord, when asked who would go to heaven, answered that heaven is for those who have the attitude of a small child. Don’t sweat the small stuff? Think again.

So the next time someone makes you feel "small," give him a blessing and let him go. Remember, it’s the small things that really count. Because all big things are made of small things put together.

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Thanks for your letters, folks! Keep sending them at nepomucenor @mtv-asia.com.