Friday FOCUS
January 12, 2024
Below is a copy of a shared article from one of my colleagues in ministry, The Reverend Anne Privett. As we begin a new year the subject is valuable information for each day as we move forward.
'Camel's Back' SYNDROME
'Most organizations don’t fall apart as a result of one big blow. Most relationships don’t end because of one grand argument. Most lives don’t fall to pieces due to one sad event. No, I suggest to you that sustained failure happens as the consequence of small, daily acts of neglect that stack up over time to lead to a blowup and a breakdown.
Remember the camel’s back metaphor. Pieces of straw kept getting piled on the poor animal.
Each piece alone was light and caused little harm. But piece after piece got placed on the camel’s back until eventually the load was so heavy that a single added straw broke his back.
I call this Camel’s Back Syndrome.
A little neglect inevitably leads to businesses and lives of striking despair. The best truly do sweat the minor details. They get the seemingly insignificant things right. They have the discipline to shine at the tiny projects and activities and To Do’s which give birth to the spectacularly big ones. They understand that lasting success comes via evolution, not resolution. And so can you.'
As Anne commented, highlighting was not my doing: someone prior to Anne or myself saw the significance in this small bit of ‘sage’ advice for life.
Blessings,
Archdeacon Brian+
