Sweat the Small Stuff
I'm currently 3.5 weeks out from stepping on stage for the first time in over a year. I’m long past comparing this experience to last year's, and I’m drinking in all the emotion as if it were the first time.
However, the mindset that comes with deep prep is familiar—like an alter ego that brings both unshakable determination and an irritable disposition. It’s hard to describe the impossible combination of fogginess and laser focus. My meals are packed for the week ahead, but I’ve brought the wrong Tupperware to work on several occasions. I’ve misplaced more than a few things and made do with subpar replacements.
It’s times like these when James Clear’s Third Law, “Make it easy,” comes to mind. As humans (and maybe especially men), we often let the specifics slide. That serves a purpose—it helps us get through the day while keeping the big picture in mind. But I want to remind myself (and whoever might be reading this) that the devil is, indeed, in the details.
Take this for example: I left my favourite water bottle at last month’s What Would Marcus Do? Book Club session. The bar we host at also misplaced it. So for the past month and a half, I’ve been drinking my daily 4–5L of water from a subpar receptacle that I genuinely dislike. Instead of simply replacing my water bottle, I’ve been tolerating an unenjoyable hydration process—and likely getting less water in as a result. This may seem like a no-brainer to the reader, but for me—someone focused on the overall vision (and who hates spending unnecessarily)—it wasn’t.
While dealing with my hydration woes, I finally noticed that I’ve been using an ice cube tray (left by a previous roommate) that produces massive, barely usable cubes that require a rinse every time. I’m constantly reminding my fitness clients to invest in reliable Tupperware they actually enjoy using. I think it’s time I practice what I preach—and apply that mindset to every part of my life.
Maybe it’s time to sweat the small stuff, perfect the details, and continue chasing greatness with more ease and sophistication—or at least, with cooler and more consistent hydration.
Sweat the small stuff—because it adds up.