Do What You Know

Like most families on Saturday mornings, our family does chores around the house. My wife does a great job adjusting the needs of each child while making sure they are learning how to work and learn some life skills along the way. My job was to help the little kids (I have 6 kids that are 6 years old and younger). One of the kids I helped was Carsen.

Carsen is a great kid. One of his jobs on Saturday morning was to fold some laundry. As he looked at the big pile of laundry that needed to be folded, he felt overwhelmed and I could see that he didn’t feel confident that he would be able to do the job. So, I stepped in to help.

But, I didn’t do it for him. Instead, I sat with him and I said these words:

Do what you know first. Then, figure the rest out as you go. But start small and work, little by little.

Then I asked him, “What do you know?” He replied that he knew how to fold “towels” and “pants.” I said, “okay, let’s start there.”

He did. And after he had done the pants and towels, including kitchen rags, the big pile was a much, much smaller pile. I then asked “Look at  all the work you did. It’s not so big anymore, huh?”

He smiled. Then, I taught him how to fold shirts and the rest.

Here’s the life lesson for all of us:

• When you feel overwhelmed with a big task ahead of you, do what you know first. Start small and do things one at a time.
• After some time doing that, look back and you’ll realize at the good you’ve accomplished and the task still ahead of you is much, much smaller.

Carsen’s a great kid. I learned from him on that Saturday morning.