Preparation for Application

In painting, the key to success is in the preparation more than in the application of the paint. That seems to be the case with much of life - the key is in the preparation for the task or, put another way, the path to the destination - a topic that I have touched upon before. So, knowing that to be the case, why do we find it so challenging to prepare well?

It would be easy to say that we are so eager to get to the main task (the application of paint) or the destination, that we simply fail to focus on the preparation or path. However, I think that there is much more to this issue than that simple answer suggests. In most situation, we either do not know how to prepare properly or we know how to prepare, follow through and then find that the task was different than we thought or the destination we reach is not the one that we anticipated (perhaps in whole or in part because of a problem with the preparation or a failure to recognize the changing landscape.

Today, Matt started college. Is he prepared? As with everyone, only time will tell. However, the first question is "prepared for what? For the academic challenge that faced each student? For the social challenge of forming new friendships? For the challenging of retaining the positive relationships he has made and terminating the toxic relationships (and, most importantly in this regard, being able to tell the difference between the two)? The list goes on, but it is not a list that is unique to Matt. What is unique and will be only his own is that manner in which he faces and resolves the challenges. We wish him luck, we offer our support, we send him off with all of our love and very best wishes. May he choose his path wisely, navigate the waters while keeping his head above water, climb the mountains that are slightly higher than he thought he could, find love for and faith in himself, and realize how much we love him.