For Love of the Little Things

Welcome to Day 22 of #LoveBlog! Today’s prompt is Little Things. Yesterday’s prompt was Physical Touch if you want to join that link-up. Find all the other prompts!

When my twin brother and I were teenagers, our mom dragged us to some motivational speaking event by one of her bosses, Mr. Dolny. I was honestly bored out of my mind for most of it, and even my mom admitted that Mr. Dolny hadn’t adapted his original presentation very well to be teen-friendly. I’ve forgotten every single point from the speech except for one.

The difference between mediocrity and excellence is very small.

I paraphrase, but that was the gist of it. To illustrate his point, Mr. Dolny shared this example.

A business traveler stays at a hotel. She orders her breakfast in advance for room service: cereal with strawberries. In the morning, the staff member preparing this breakfast notices the strawberries are spoiled, but the bananas look good. He has three choices.

Send up the breakfast with the strawberries. The business traveler receives spoiled strawberries and is upset at the poor service.
Send up the breakfast with the bananas. The business traveler doesn’t receive the strawberries as requested and is upset at the poor service.
Call the business traveler’s room and explain the situation. Offer to substitute the bananas. The business traveler receives bananas and is happy at the excellent service.

That phone call takes maybe a minute, but it’s the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

While the presentation related to the workplace, the message equally applies to relationships. Sometimes the little things make all the difference.

If your best friend calls or send you a long email, and you’re completely swamped, don’t just ignore her. Take a minute to write a quick email or text message back. Ask if you two can catch up at a later date when you’re not so busy. This will only take a minute, but your best friend will feel heard instead of ignored.

Is your spouse using the car tomorrow? On the way home from work or your errands, fill up the car with gas. It’s one less thing for your spouse to need to do.

I have one Facebook secret that I think makes a difference. When someone announces their big news, like getting into grad school or moving to a new country, don’t just like or comment on that post. Write a separate post on your friend’s Facebook wall, or even send your friend a private message on Facebook. This one extra step will make your joyful comment stand out from the rest!

Finally, the most important difference: your attitude matters. Is your spouse stressed out? Offer to do the dishes or provide a back massage. However, if you do so begrudgingly, your offer loses value. When you make kind-hearted gestures, do them willingly, and not out of obligation.

I know it can be hard to build and to maintain relationships. Sometimes just the smallest effort is what makes all the difference.

Meet Your #LoveBlog Hosts!

Meet Brita Long: Christian feminist blissfully married to Dan Fleck for almost two years. Lover of Paris, pink sparkles, sensible shoes, manicures, and books. Fueled by hot tea and mimosas.

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Meet Kira Brennan: 20-something recently transplanted to Texas. She’s a happily married feminist, and loves art, vintage sewing, learning languages, and social justice. She has two cats, Electra and Chummy, who love to walk on her stuff.

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Meet Tayler Morrell: Mormon stay-at-home-mom married to her best friend, Justin, for 3.5 years. Mother to 19-month-old Rhys. “Retired” history and English teacher, runner, lover of video games, fantasy, books, and cooking. Consumer of Italian food, chocolate, steak, and strawberries.

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