That's what I called my dad's dad, Papa. While he's long since been playing that "back nine" in the sky (with perfect drives every hit, I'm sure!), he was relating to me one day the demise of the composition tennis courts at his local country club. Management was cutting funds for upkeep, letting go of seasoned workers and replacing them with cheaper inexperienced ones...and my grandfather kept saying over and over, "You get what you pay for...you get what you pay for."
From personal levels to corporate levels to big government echelons, similar principles run deep...only the scale differs. It's good to be a wise shopper and spender, and most times there are good deals to be found. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing wrong with being thrifty, of course, as long as you don't start compromising the very fabric and integrity of your operation or personal being. And that is apparently easier said than done for a lot of people and businesses.
Whether it's a developed myopia, or a willful choice of ostrich-head-in-the-sand approach, I see many decisions made that are best described as 'shooting one's self in the foot.' Sometimes it may be from a lack of general awareness to potential pitfalls...sometimes it's all about the power of ego and pride, even greed that directs movement, come Hades or high water.
Balance. Gotta have that 'balance' in life, be it something as simple as nutrition, to stress levels and hyperactivity...be it a person or an organization, there has to be attention paid to balance, and you deal with that balance by tending to the basics and not losing sight of them. There's big stuff, and there's little stuff...and we constantly are sifting those out so we don't waste energy and time on the little stuff, unless it's a potential cancer. We pick and choose our battles, don't we...if we don't, we'll never, ever find that 'balance'.
When I hiked the whole Appalachian Trail over 20 years ago, I paid close attention to the weight I carried. Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon...you need it, but not too little and not too much. I knew hikers who would cut off the edges of their maps to trim ounces here and there, they got so fixated on the minutiae of extra weight. Didn't take me long to realize you can easily lose focus on the Big Picture when you over-focus on the itty bitty stuff. I prefer the Big Picture, myself. Then again, in that instance, I'm a bit of a pack mule with my 6'4" frame, so trimming map edges seemed rather silly.
Not sure how I got going on this rambling post...as they say about life, the joy is in the Journey, not the Destination. I'm sure I'll pick up on some of these points later and define them and their relevance a bit more...somewhere down the pike...
Balance...the little stuff...you get what you pay for...it's all about choices we get to make.
Stay tuned for my "Fried Fridays" winner tomorrow!. I'll be picking it later this afternoon...and I'm sure the pool will be overflowing with candidates, per usual...
From personal levels to corporate levels to big government echelons, similar principles run deep...only the scale differs. It's good to be a wise shopper and spender, and most times there are good deals to be found. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing wrong with being thrifty, of course, as long as you don't start compromising the very fabric and integrity of your operation or personal being. And that is apparently easier said than done for a lot of people and businesses.
Whether it's a developed myopia, or a willful choice of ostrich-head-in-the-sand approach, I see many decisions made that are best described as 'shooting one's self in the foot.' Sometimes it may be from a lack of general awareness to potential pitfalls...sometimes it's all about the power of ego and pride, even greed that directs movement, come Hades or high water.
Balance. Gotta have that 'balance' in life, be it something as simple as nutrition, to stress levels and hyperactivity...be it a person or an organization, there has to be attention paid to balance, and you deal with that balance by tending to the basics and not losing sight of them. There's big stuff, and there's little stuff...and we constantly are sifting those out so we don't waste energy and time on the little stuff, unless it's a potential cancer. We pick and choose our battles, don't we...if we don't, we'll never, ever find that 'balance'.
When I hiked the whole Appalachian Trail over 20 years ago, I paid close attention to the weight I carried. Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon...you need it, but not too little and not too much. I knew hikers who would cut off the edges of their maps to trim ounces here and there, they got so fixated on the minutiae of extra weight. Didn't take me long to realize you can easily lose focus on the Big Picture when you over-focus on the itty bitty stuff. I prefer the Big Picture, myself. Then again, in that instance, I'm a bit of a pack mule with my 6'4" frame, so trimming map edges seemed rather silly.
Not sure how I got going on this rambling post...as they say about life, the joy is in the Journey, not the Destination. I'm sure I'll pick up on some of these points later and define them and their relevance a bit more...somewhere down the pike...
Balance...the little stuff...you get what you pay for...it's all about choices we get to make.
Stay tuned for my "Fried Fridays" winner tomorrow!. I'll be picking it later this afternoon...and I'm sure the pool will be overflowing with candidates, per usual...
1 comment:
"AMEN!" to every 'rambling road' you took in this post!
Suzy :)
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