Last Tuesday morning, I booked a ticket to BKC on the Chalo App for a 10:31 AM bus. But on the way I realised that I would indeed reach the station by 10:20 AM just in time for an earlier bus. I tried to reschedule but the request failed.
I didn’t think much of it and then reached the stop while the passengers boarded the other bus. I waited nonchalantly, even helping a new user navigate the app and help book a ticket like a good samaritan that I am. It was only after the bus had left that I checked the app to see that my rescheduling request had gone through and that I had in fact missed my bus!
The next bus (my original one) started boarding soon. It seemed like that it would go with a few seats empty. I tried my luck at convincing the boarding attendant at the stop. But he flatly refused saying no refunds or adjustment. I could either book another ticket on the app or figure out another way to get to the office.
His commitment to his duty annoyed me. Even though I admired it grudgingly (I already paid for a ticket and your app didn’t refresh on time!). I was already sweating in the sweltering morning heat, so at that moment I decided that, I was not going to sweat the small stuff.
I paused as my original bus started and languidly merged into the traffic of Bandra east. My options were limited – I could wait for an auto, find a regular BEST bus or simply rebook on the Chalo App and get to work. My irritation had reduced by then so I chose the last option. I eventually reached the office, predictably delayed, but I was not annoyed any more. I had successfully saved my day from going into a tailspin over a missed bus.
This philosophy of not sweating the small stuff has been around for a long time. It encourages a way of life which mainly focuses on letting go, living in the moment, waking up and smelling the coffee, giving up perfection and thinking of the long term impact of minor inconveniences (Will this missed bus matter a year from now?)
While this seems like a nice outlook on life, there are many times when the small stuff is the only thing that matters. A missed cell reference in a data model could alter the results and the decisions that the model enables. A missed word in a contract can change the terms completely. A mistaken date can lead to travel plans going awry. At these times it is hard to swear by this philosophy. They say having attention to detail is a superpower. And obsessing over the small stuff leads to high quality outcomes. This changes everything.
This small stuff is hard to categorise into two buckets – to sweat over and to not bother over. But if one were to really try then a simpler explanation emerges. The stuff that you have zero control over is clearly not worth losing your peace over. Like an app not refreshing automatically. It is not worth fighting over small things which don’t lead to a major loss – financial or otherwise. However, the stuff under your control – the work that you send out, the words that you speak or write and of course your actions which you have full control over must be the stuff that you should really be particular about.
It is not so much about achieving perfection in everything that one does. But at least ensuring that one doesn’t do a shoddy job under the guise of completing the task. In the end it all boils down to the system 1 thinking that one employs in such times. The sort of reactive actions that one takes without much thought.
So without much further thought I am going to stop sweating the small stuff and start sweating the small stuff. Good luck to me categorising it!