part0151

Far too often we let little things slide. But just turn on the news and listen as the anchors lament an auto-part defect leading to deaths and multibillion-dollar recalls or a small leak in a gas pipeline causing an explosion that endangers wildlife. Recognizing when something is wrong, big or small, and holding people accountable can save industries billions and citizens their lives. Sergeant Bowen instilled in me instantly that if you do walk by a mistake, then you just set a new, lower standard.

When you make an unimportant mistake, there’s a temptation to let it go and ignore it. After all, it isn’t a big deal, so why bother? If your dishes aren’t pristinely clean, it won’t change much in the grand scheme of things, and most certainly won’t hurt anybody.

The problem is that walking by your mistakes sets a precedent of tolerating small errors. You’re also missing out on a valuable exercise in self-control: making sure that all that you do is done with the utmost care.

I’m the last person to say that from now on you need to make sure that everything that you do is flawless. I’m fully aware that it isn’t feasible, and I’d be a hypocrite to say that; my favorite tea mug is never entirely free of tea stains!

However, whenever you can, try to exercise a little bit of self-control and correct a little thing that you consider unimportant. It can be a small tweak in your posture, making sure that you sit properly in front of the computer. It can be making an effort to speak more clearly and improve your articulation. It can be ensuring that your bed is made properly or slicing a loaf of bread with more precision.

I often spend several minutes trying to fix a paragraph that I don’t consider up to my standards. In the grand scheme of things, one single paragraph doesn’t mean much. However, when the little things are repeated over and over again, it does have an effect on the final outcome and carries the risk of establishing a precedent — in this case, of my being lazy with my writing.