It All Adds Up

Last Tuesday I stood outside of a polling station at 6:45 a.m. holding a sign for a candidate for U.S. Senate. For more than two hours I was out there, cold and bored, while people trickled into the voting station alone or two by two. A handful of morning commuters beeped and waved as they drove by, but otherwise, the morning was quiet and, I thought, uneventful.

I spent the rest of the day –until 7:30 that night –making calls asking people to get out and vote. The work was mind-numbing. Over and over, I left the same message.  “Please remember to vote today.” I almost nodded off a few times the work was so repetitive and dull and I wondered if all the time I was spending would amount to anything. Each individual call seemed so inconsequential.

After the polls closed, I headed into the city for the campaign party. I was tired and thought about bailing, but I know that showing up is important too, so I rallied. And when I got there, and the room was buzzing with excitement, and our candidate came out and accepted the nomination, I realized, it all adds up.

Every sign hold, every phone call, all add up to something greater. Even though an action may seem small or optional at the time, they really do lead to something. It wasn’t my volunteering or my phone call that made the difference, it was the sum of so many actions that added up to victory. And standing in that hotel ballroom, I realized just how many ways we can apply that lesson.

If you are improving your health, it all adds up – everything you put in your mouth, every decision you make.

If you want to run a road race, it all adds up – every step you take; no matter how slow or how small.

If you are raising children, it all adds up – everything you say, every rule you make, every rule you break.

If you are saving for a house, it all adds up — every penny you save, every penny you spend.

If you are trying to affect change, it all adds up – every letter you send, every phone call you make, every person you reach.

Yes, I have heard the phrase, “the sum is greater than the parts.” But I needed to learn that lesson again, at that time. And even though I had an “aha” moment last Tuesday, I know I will probably relearn the same lesson several more times.

A few days after the election, I was sharing my discovery with someone older and wiser. He nodded in appreciation and shared his most recent lesson, “It takes something.” This man is very successful. Clearly he already knew this. But for some reason, he recently re-learned the lesson, and it resonated with him.

If you want to do something small, like throw a party, you can. But it takes something – cooking, cleaning, prep time.

If you want to achieve something big, like get promoted at work, you can. But it takes something – hard work, long hours, smart decisions.

Another wise friend of mine reminds us often, “Focus is your friend.” Same idea. We all know what to do. We all know what it takes. It’s just that sometimes, we need to re-learn what we already knew.

Tags: election, goals, it all adds up, lessons, parenting

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 10:47 am and is filed under Shoes and Other Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.