“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out—it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” (Robert W. Service)

Originally published May 27, 2016

This quotation has been attributed to Robert W. Service, who was a British-Canadian poet and writer. He died in 1958.

Because there’s some doubt that Service actually penned this quotation, we’re going to leave the authorship unconfirmed.

But whoever wrote these words was on to an important life principle.

We all get annoyed

Whether we have a short fuse or a long fuse, most of us do get annoyed from time to time by things that matter very little in the end.

That’s why we call them “petty annoyances.”

These are things that aggravate us, cause us delays, raise our blood pressure, and otherwise sap our energy. We don’t always see them coming.

And sometimes we find ourselves in the thick of them before we realize it. When we do realize it, it’s best to pause, take a few deep breaths, and ask ourselves a very important question—does this really matter?

If you’re not sure of the answer, go with the alternate question—will this matter in 10 years? That should settle it.

The effects of petty annoyances

The problem with petty annoyances is that they drain our energy. They make use weaker for the things that really matter.

In fact, we can usually handle the big challenges. But these little gnats and flies and mosquitos wear away at us.

And when we need our energy for life’s “biggies,” we find it’s been depleted by what doesn’t even matter.

It’s not the hill

I like to go hiking from time to time. When I do, I nearly always get a grain of sand in my shoe.

So here I am ascending this hill—making progress with every step. I have the strength, I have the resolve, I have the desire.

And yet there’s this annoying, irritating, relentless rub down in my shoe.

Of course, I don’t want to take the 30 seconds required to take off my shoe and get rid of the grain of sand. So I get more and more annoyed with each step. Eventually I may even wear a blister on my foot.

Funny thing is that I’m having no trouble with the hill itself. It’s that annoying grain of sand in my shoe that’s doing me in.

4 lessons

So here are 4 lessons from the quotation.

1. Recognize that petty annoyances drain your energy.
2. Remember that petty annoyances are best handled by addressing—not by ignoring.
3. Realize that petty annoyance usually have a simple solution.
4. Rejoice in knowing that the solution will conserve the energy you’ll need to face what really matters.

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