Why I Don't Stir My Coffee

I am a man who loves my coffee in the morning. The darker the roast the better. If you don't confuse my coffee with jet engine fuel, I'm probably not happy with what I'm drinking.

The only thing I ever add to it anymore is pure cinnamon. If you've never tried real cinnamon in your coffee, you are missing out. That's not what I'm here to talk to you about today, however.

One morning I was so busy that I didn't even bother to stir my cinnamon in. I just dumped it in, got to work, and came back to it later. Something funny happened: The cinnamon dispersed into my coffee by itself. That day, I didn't think much of it. As I said, I was busy.

The next morning I decided to make it a conscious choice, and left it alone. It only took a few minutes, and the result was the same. This got me thinking about all the things I micromanage in my life that I could be leaving alone to get real work done. Did I really need to pester that person less than 30 minutes after sending them an E-mail? Did I need to triple check on that assignment I'd given someone that same day?

So on, and so on. Many times in life, we waste valuable time micromanaging or pestering things, tasks, and people that we could just leave alone. We could, heaven forbid, exercise a little patience, or just relax and do what we really know we need to be doing during that time. Are you stirring your coffee, checking your E-mail, or making unnecessary phone calls to put off that first major task of the day? If so, stop it. Leave the coffee to settle on its own. Sometimes the choice you make to grow, to become stronger, is a single small choice that you make each day that builds into life changing habits. Stop stirring your coffee and get to work.