Have you ever tried to make something work, and then come to find out that the way you were going about it made it virtually impossible to ever get the job done? For instance, in fixing a plumbing problem last week, I followed a diagram that came with the parts I purchased. In the diagram, it showed that a certain washer was suppose to go between one of the pipes and a slip joint nut. So that’s what I did. The problem was that it never really worked that well. And although I eventually got it to stop leaking, after a week or so, the leak returned.
In coming back to the problem the second time, I found out that the washer I had been using was actually not suppose to go where I had been trying to force it to go. Normally it would, but in this case, the parts I had purchased were actually designed to work without one. So although the diagram that came with those parts showed a washer there, it was actually incorrect. And it was because I was trying to follow the directions and place an unnecessary washer there, that I continued to end up with leaks.
Sometimes, following the rules we’ve been given—whatever they may be—can actually get in the way of doing what we’re trying to do. If we do things by the book, but things aren’t working out, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate if we even have the proper set of instructions. If the rules we follow are wrong, or if we’ve misunderstood what we’re suppose to be doing, stubbornly continuing to go in the same direction is not going to get us where we want to go.