The Man With A Spade

Over the past week, I watched a man with a spade tackle his overgrown front yard that looked more like a bush than a yard. He didn’t really dress or look the part; most days he seemed to be overdressed with his hoodie and extra jacket while doing a labour intensive job on hot days.

It was enough to pique my interest and caused me to ‘people-watch’ him over several days. Initially I thought he was playing or a tad in denial about the task that he faced. I felt his dressing would make it harder for him and his chosen equipment didn’t seem fit for purpose.

But day after day, I saw him make progress, sometimes slow progress but it was progress nonetheless. More than a week later, his front yard was completely cleared and he got his job done.

Interestingly he got the job done wearing the same clothes and using the same tool from start to finish. It didn’t matter what I, as an observer, thought. He believed in himself and committed to his task and got his job done.

I learnt a few lessons from this stranger.

Commit to the change you want

This man was committed to the transformation of his yard. I don’t know why he let it get so overgrown and it doesn’t really matter that it did. What matters is that he realised something needed to be done and he did it.

Self-belief is key

Even though I didn’t think he dressed the part or had the right tools for the job, it didn’t really matter because I’m just a bystander and onlooker.

I had nothing at stake and my ‘opinion’ was just that. The only thing that mattered was for the man to believe in himself, his abilities and the tool that he had.

We are all gifted with talents, time, energy and what’s important is that we believe enough in the ‘Giver’ and the gifts to take necessary actions.

People will have an opinion about our lives, choices and actions but what matters in the end is our own opinions and how they translate to the choices that will transform our lives for the better.

What’s in your hand?

Yes, we may not have the perfect tools in the eyes of others but we have to start with ‘what’s in our hands’. Too many times, we want to wait until we have someone else’s resources, talents and gifts to fulfil our own mission.

But we must start with ‘what’s in our own hands’; we will soon realise that what we have been given is adequate to start what we need to do.

The man had a spade and he used what he had to completely clear an overgrown garden – eventually the tall bush, weeds and the small grasses all disappeared using that one tool.

Self improvement is key

Just because the man eventually got the job done doesn’t mean he couldn’t have done it differently. We must be willing to reflect on what we are doing, why and the ‘how’ to maximize our returns on investment.

The reality is that the job could have benefited from using a wider range of tools. So even as I admired his tenacity, I had to reflect on what I might have done differently.

The full picture is often missing

I thought about his challenges and possible limitations reminding myself that, as I’m not in his shoes, I don’t have the full picture. Maybe the only tool he could use is a spade, maybe his dressing is health related and has to do with a need to keep warm even on a warm day.

It’s easy for any of us to form an opinion and judgment but we must remember that our opinion could be way off the mark. When we don’t have the full picture, it’s best to keep our opinions to ourselves and not make any harsh judgements.

The one thing to do is to always keep learning from others and ourselves.

Thanks for reading my post. Please share it with others and have an awesome week.