During summer vacation, my seven-year-old brother is tasked with making his bed as soon as he wakes up. It’s a good habit to pick up at an early age.
My brother learned quickly; he positioned the pillows in a neat way and did everything well except for the last sheet. The last sheet was the trickiest and he always failed to align it with the king mattress. One day, he was frustrated at not knowing how to add the last sheet and was on the verge of tears. No matter what he did, it never went the way he wanted.
“Why don’t you start with the corners?” I said.
He started out with a corner and got confused, giving up again and telling me it’s not working. He stopped moving altogether and started to tear up.
I told him, “it’s okay to not know what you’re doing. You’ll figure something out as long as you keep moving; it’s hard now, but it’ll get easier when you’re moving.”
He kept trying and used the corners of the sheet as guidance. The bed looked better. Eventually, he succeeded in adding the last sheet and did it well.
In retrospect, his issue was that he tried tackling all the corners at once, confusing him in the process. You don’t have to do it all at once, just start with a corner and let it guide you.
P.S.
I discovered this really interesting website called “Letters Of Note” that documents written letters of historical figures while providing important context for each letter. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites since I’m a history buff.
Here’s an example that also happens to be my inspiration for the day.