The Perfect Lawn

My first home was in Schaumburg Illinois in the mid '70's. In my little slice of suburbia, I thought of growing up in Michigan as a kid & having a lawn & garden, complete with flowers and vegetables. Now it was my turn, and I was not to be outdone by my father.

So the first thing I tackled outside was the most visible - the lawn. Well, it was a big challenge, and it seemed that most everyone else had a greener, healthier one. Not a slacker, I got down on my hands and knees and declared war on the weeds. They were ugly, everywhere, and choking out my precious grass. This went on for a few weeks, but the more I dug, the sooner they sprouted back, seemingly bigger than ever.

Even though I was not a quick learner, I changed strategy. Instead of eliminating the lawn's problems, I decided to maximize it's health and beauty. I began regularly fertilizing and watering the grass. Then it was thatched and aerated. Before long it was looking much better. As I inspected it carefully, I discovered that many of the weeds were still there, but were stunted and minimized by the lush grass. By magnifying strengths instead of minimizing weaknesses, I had helped to create a beautiful outcome, and had more fun "growing" something than destroying it. Beauty had won out over the beast.

Yes, it is the same with our personal lives and businesses. Why oh why are we critical of ourselves & others when we have so many positives to celebrate? In our flawed "humanness" we seem to think we gain more by criticizing than with praise. It's just the opposite; we achieve more by building than tearing down. We also have more fun doing it. Don't you naturally want to be with positive people, who always see the good, rather than someone who picks you apart? We do not elevate ourselves by tearing others down,, we achieve it by taking them with us to higher ground.

One other point is critical here: faults are always present. We are human, and by definition, we will never eliminate them. Our only hope is to glory in our strengths so that our shortcomings seem trivial in comparison. Examples are the salesperson that struggles to handle details, but has such warmth and empathy that customers flock to her; or, the accountant who is abrupt with people, but so competent that he is valued; or, the shift foreman who is impatient, but always expects more of himself, and gains respect.

If we are good finders, we will be found good. Celebrate strengths!