Align Your Threads

The other day, as I stopped to fill the gas tank of my car, I went into the convenience store and got a bottle of water.  When I had filled my tank and got back into my car I proceeded to screw the cap back onto my water bottle.  It started out okay, but then it just got more difficult.

After confirming that I was twisting it the right way by reciting the mantra “righty tighty, lefty loosey”, I decided that it was just being stubborn and that I could force it back on.  After all, I was a big, strong guy!  So I twisted and twisted, my fingers gripping ever so tightly on the ridges of the tiny plastic cap.  I don’t know how much I really turned the cap, but I was exerting so much force that I was convinced it HAD to be on as tight as it was ever going to be.  With little beads of sweat on my forehead, I smiled at the thought of yet another challenge conquered! With a smug smile I tossed the bottle into the passenger seat.

Then, as if in slow motion, I see the bottom of the bottle bounce off the cushion and the white bottle cap easily pop off!  “Noooooo!”  Water gushes out of the bottle, splashing my dashboard and soaking my cushion.  Defeated, I get out of my car to grab a handful of paper towels.

If only I had taken the time to turn the cap to the left to make sure the threads of the cap and the bottle were aligned, I would have saved myself the time and trouble of drying out the interior of my car.

Now I’m not saying this applies to more than just water bottles.  I’m not even suggesting that from time to time it would make a great deal of sense to step back and notice if there’s an easier way to go forward.  What I AM telling you is that before you do anything, you may now want to make sure that your efforts are in alignment with your greater purpose.