Long ago, there was a phrase in the Roman law, “De minimis non curat praetor” (the magistrate does not consider trifles). The idea was that things that weren’t very important were not to take up the time of the court. And although this concept was used long ago, the principle still applies for each of us today.
No, we may not be judges in a courtroom, but every day we face decisions that need to be made. And we have to choose whether we’ll give our attention to the issues that are actually important, or if we’ll spend our time on trifles that are inconsequential. Because it’s possible, and sometimes very easy, to focus on the minutiae and miss the big picture—we can spend a lot of energy trying to save a penny, yet fail to pay attention to how we spend a dollar, so to speak.
The question to ask ourselves is, Does this really matter? Am I spending my time worrying or trying to figure out something that really will make a difference in the long run? Because if it’s just a trifle, there’s no reason to give it more time than it deserves.