Just the other day, an insight clicked for me that I've never put into words before.  

An insight that's definitely led to a calmer time at work.

It clicked after reading a short chapter in Richard Carlson’s book Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff With Your Family.

I don’t know if that sounds like a juicy book title to you or not.

But the real meat and potatoes is more in line with the book’s subtitle Simple Ways to Keep Daily Responsibilities and Household Chaos from Taking Over Your Life.

Ooooh baby. That’s a subtitle I can get behind!

In Chapter 9, Carlson writes about “taking care of your home like painting the bridge”.

To chop to the chase, this is the idea that just like the Golden Gate Bridge is painted every day of the year (the bridge is so big that by the time it’s painted, it’s time to start painting again), taking care of your home works in a very similar way.

In Carlson’s own words:

Looking back, it seems I was frustrated most of the time, because it seemed like something was always wrong with our home – a sink needed repair, a room needed paint, the attic needed cleaning, the dishes needed to be washed, a closet was a mess, weeds needed to be pulled, and so forth.

It was as if I felt like there would come a time when it would somehow all be done. And I fantasised that when it was finally finished, I’d be able to feel relaxed and satisfied.

Carlson goes on to say that the day he understood that housework mirrored the Golden Gate Bridge (and accepted it) was the day he found relief, despite the same messy attic, weeds to pull and so on.

Well, guess what?

It looks exactly the same to me at work.

There’s one particular project I have in mind from February. It took a couple of weeks of hard graft, financial modelling, heaps of Teams calls, DMs, mini deadlines and a few hundred emails, but three or so weeks later, it was done.

But when April came round, the project revved back up. 

Another “layer” of work was needed and the modelling, calls, DMs, deadlines and emails kicked back into gear.

This time it took five weeks to get everything done and dusted, kippers and custard.

But sure enough, when July rolled around, the project peered its unruly head back over the parapet and off we went again on another magical mystery ride.

Such is the life of a corporate 9-to-5er.

Whenever something similar happened in v1 of my banking career (we’re talking back in the 2010s before I stumbled on the Subtraction Method), I remember it being an almighty source of frustration. The never-ending merry-go-round seemed ridiculous and I had a TONNE of resistance to the fact that there was often no finishing line to these projects.

I really thought work shouldn’t be like this.

Fast forward to v2 of my banking career and my new “Buddha of Banking” ways and honestly, the absurdity and predictability of projects like these just make me laugh.

So does how wound up I used to get.

I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out what changed and while I’m not sure I’ve got exactly the right words, what I do know is that my resistance has gone. 

And that’s because it really doesn’t look like a good idea to get myself all worked up about something which is such a baked-in part of working life.

It’s part of the job description, after all.

So I can gnash my teeth and shake my fists at the sky if I want to. Or I can choose to have a more pleasant experience of life.

I’ve chosen the latter.

If you like, you can too.

Here’s your next step if so:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com