Little Mistakes Lead to Big Mistakes

I tried to avoid the the truth. Several months ago, I hired a professional to provide me with a particular service. As our relationship unfolded, I noticed that many small errors were being made on his part. I kept trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it was just the minutia of all the original paperwork set up. Perhaps once all the busy work of establishing the working arrangement was completed, things would get better. All of the mistakes were annoying and required my time and attention to straighten them out, but overall, it was a minor irritation and the cost was low.

Then, a major mistake occurred. It was a greatly increased magnitude of importance, but still not an irreversible or costly mistake. The fact that it was a more serious error, however, cauesd my nervousness to increase.

Right on the heels of that major mistake, another HUGE mistake was made. This time the consequences were severe and costly. I was mortified.

In the end, the guy who made the mistake, set it right. The relationship was severed (his choice, not mine) and that was that.

I had tried to preserve the relationship at all costs, even after the major, costly mistake. I felt I needed the service provided by this guy, and was willing to compromise my own standards of quality to get it.

I have been reflecting on the fact that I so desperately wanted to believe that things were going to be OK I 'talked myself into' thinking that a law of the universe didn't apply to this particular situation!

If someone is diligent in small things, they will be diligent over large things. If someone is careless over small things, they will be careless over large things.

I tried to convince myself that someone could do poorly with small details, and yet handle the details of more important things well. That doesn't make a lot of sense.

It is a testament to how we can 'wish it were so' to the point where we ignore the obvious, ignore our better instincts and make bad decisions on our own behalf.

The end result is the same, except I had less control over it.

This person made the mistakes (and after a conflict, agreed to set the most major one right), but then THEY terminated our business relationship unexpectedly, in a very unprofessional manner, leaving me in a situation for which I was not prepared.

Had I paid attention to my gut months ago, I could have saved money (their fees) and aggravation. i could also have created a more smooth transition to extricate them from involvement in my affairs.

My intuition told me to pay attention to the emerging pattern. My gut concurred.

I, however, wanted to believe that this person could and would serve me well in the long run.

When the evidence presented itself, I minimized it, and focused instead on what I wished were true. Not the wisest course of action.

Another lesson learned. Pay attention to the evidence that life provides. Pay attention to your gut. Keep your eyes open and face reality! I think I've got it now!