Are you trying to be a responsible person, but it's causing more harm than good?
You're not alone!
Enjoy this video where I reflect on how I was over-doing it with my responsibilities to care for my bicycle.
Today, I'm asking myself this question: “Am I being overly responsible.”
When it comes to the chain on my bicycle, the answer is, "yes," I was being over-responsible.
I was lubricating my chain once or twice per day. I don't know where. I got the idea that that was the proper way to take care of a bicycle (to lubricate your chain on every ride). But that was the idea that I had.
And it started causing me three problems.
One, it was a waste of resources.
Second of all, it was making a mess all over the place, especially on my legs and the gear right around where the chain was. The oil was flinging everywhere.
And then the third problem, and probably most importantly, it was counterproductive. That extra lubrication was attracting dirt and sand and grime to my drive chain and putting it in places where it was doing more damage than good.
So this idea of being a good steward is a positive attribute, but like any attribute, it has a basement. And when taken to extremes, it can be counterproductive and cause harm.
Now I know where I got this trait in my life. I grew up the oldest child in a family with a special needs child. We valued thriftiness, frugality, and resourcefulness. And this all brings about this idea of responsibility.
My career in the military reinforces: “there are many things that you actually can't directly be responsible for, but you are accountable to American families, to American taxpayers, at the end of the day, for what happens under your watch, whether you had direct control over it or not.”
So I know where I got these ideas.
And it shows up in all kinds of different places in my life. It's not just maintaining a bicycle. It shows up on projects. It shows up in my personal and professional relationships where I feel a sense of accountability and responsibility that maybe is greater than is appropriate, and there's some degree of mutuality that's required.
So how about you? Do you face this challenge as well? Do you have an area where you're applying a strength of stewardship and care, but in the long run, it's backfiring and causing you problems? If so, please let me know that I'm not alone in the comments!
What a beautiful, peaceful path (well, aside from the mosquitos, but they only bothered me when I was stopped for a picture). I gathered an autumn bouquet for my handlebars here too. It included a giant hickory leaf going for gold, a rich red oak leaf, an energizing orange maple leaf, a dainty yellow primrose, a sprig of Queen Anne's Lace, a matching lavender aster and clover blossom, and a straw-colored cattail.
Great video! And you are not alone on this one!
Mandy – thanks so much for sharing your journey with us! – Liz Ruetsch