[March 23, 2023] Your life is not margaritas on a sunny beach in the Caribbean. That may happen now and then, but it is the exception. Your real life is how your wife greets you at the door when you come home every day. That’s 10 minutes a day. Your life is how you treat each other over the dinner table because that is an hour every single day. The little things matter.
Get those ordinary things right. Concentrate on them, and make them unspoiled. You have most of your life put together if you can do that. Those are the little things that are immediately in front of us.
Those “little” things are not little. And they are hard to get right, and if you can set them properly, then there is a powerful rippling effect that occurs fast.
Remember the small things that are not small to your wife, friend, co-workers, and those around you. Many events in their lives have no apparent connection to you. We like to minimize these because our private lives stay private and out of the workplace. Celebrate those events in the lives of others, especially those in the family and sincerely acknowledge them.
“Remember the small things (about others). To us, the small things are unimportant and not worthy of our attention, but to someone else, it could be the most joyful event or issue in their lives. Remember to acknowledge them.” – Rule 42, 55 Rules for a Good Life
There is a great lesson here. We are social creatures. We thrive when around others. We seek to be in the company of those we know. What we do and what we say to others matters a great deal. That is why we must carefully decide how we interact. The point is to show others we care and are willing to hold them up publically and say they are essential, not just a cog in the wheel of some giant organization.
Remembering the small things generates trust. Trust is the glue that holds relationships together. Loyalty, trustworthiness, courage, and honesty begin here. Support it. Nurture it. Caring about others is at the core of being human.
Always remember to acknowledge the “little” things because they matter.
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Yes yes yes, this is great advice for REAL MEN.
Another powerful article. Thanks! Hard to add much more.
Spot-on comment Watson. Hey, go buy Gen. Satterfield’s books if you haven’t already done so. That is how you can support his blog.
There is a grand lesson here. People are social creatures. They thrive when around others. They seek to be in the company of those they know sincerely value them. What we do and what we say to others matters a great deal. That is why we must carefully decide how we interact. The point is to show others we care and are willing to hold them up publically and say they are essential and not just a cog in the wheel of some giant organization. Remembering the small things generates trust. And trust is the glue that holds relationships together. Loyalty, trustworthiness, courage, and honesty begins here. Support it. Nurture it. Caring about others is at the core of being human. Always remember to acknowledge the “small” things.
— from Gen. Satterfield’s book ’55 rules for a good life’ ….. and never forget this either.
Well, I sure am surprised by this mini-series but glad that Gen. Satterfield has put it together. This seems a bit out of the ordinary for Gen. S. and that is a really really good thing.
I disagree, this is exactly in Gen. Satterfield’s wheel house.
We want to achieve this state of human communion; it’s a mistake to think that most humans prefer the solitary life that so much of modern life imposes on us. We are most comfortable when we’re connected, sharing strong emotions and stories, and led by a strong, charismatic leader who is keeping us safe and together.
How did humans become social creatures? Now that is the Q we should be answering. 👍
From practical experience, never ever forget the small things about others because they are not really small. They are big, or at least the message you send is big on those small things.
Right, Pink Cloud, the message is that you care and caring is part of the glue that holds us together and is most powerful as a social element in human behavior.
I do believe this is the point that Gen. Satterfield is making in today’s article but also this series of articles. See below as Yusaf from Texas included links to the other articles in this mini-series. Now read them all and do so in the context of the overall theme of Gen. Satterfield’s blog. I think you will find that all these fit nicely together. Yes, we are social creatures and not overlooking the small things (a value judgment so be careful) then we become a regular part of the groups we admire and trust the most. This matters a great deal and Gen. S. has helped highlight that fact.
Right Jeremy!!
Humans are social creatures. We live in families, we work in teams, we envision duty and purpose through religious fellowship, we negotiate through economic alliances and political coalitions, and our norms are shaped by our culture, itself an emergent property of group-living. Most of us probably take all this for granted, as though it stood in no need of explanation or contemplation.
True enough, we are social creatures. And we want to be around others. But others will only want to be around us if we are good to them and add value. Otherwise we are the hermit in the mountains, the drug addict on a liberal city streets, or the crazy man in prison. Pick your poison.
Exactly, Unwoke Dude. Just what I was thinking.
Humans are hardwired to be social beings. We naturally cooperate, care, and compete. From quarks, to cells, to plants, to animals, cooperation is in our DNA. This fundamental system is most easily explained by the genetic mission of most life on earth: “to procreate, thrive, and survive“.
Yes, both hardwired and social.
Survival of the fittest. Those who are social, live another day. Those anti-social or uncaring about others died away.
“Remember the small things (about others). To us, the small things are unimportant and not worthy of our attention, but to someone else, it could be the most joyful event or issue in their lives. Remember to acknowledge them.” – Rule 42, 55 Rules for a Good Life
Gen. Satterfield is always on the hunt for “rules” or, to put it another way, for “lessons” that we can live by that will make our lives and those around us much better.
Nice mini-series. Here are links to the others in your series.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/lessons-for-men-embrace-the-monster-in-you/
https://www.theleadermaker.com/lessons-for-men-dont-compare-yourself-to-others/
https://www.theleadermaker.com/lessons-for-men-too-nice-makes-you-weak/
Thank you Yusaf for the quick research. 😊
Yep, thx all. 😎😎😎😎😎