Splinters in the Brain

I can't remember the last time I got a splinter. Maybe it's just me, but I remember getting plenty as a kid. As an adult, not so much. That's one of the first things to pop into my head when I managed to get one in my finger this evening. "Well, this hasn't happened in a while." It was a good one, too, not something that barely goes in and comes out easily. It took minor, at-home surgery performed with a pocket knife and tweezers to extract. No anesthesia, though. And I only flat lined once.

In all seriousness, it took a good 15 minutes to get out. But that was 15 minutes of obsessive, hyper-focused effort to remove a millimeter length of wood whilst ignoring my one year old with a knack for eating dirt and sticking her finger in electrical sockets. Disclaimer: my wife was also there, so the child was never in danger. But at the end of a long day, we operate best as a team. And my sudden injury took me out of commission.

After retrieving the splinter and experiencing the mad rush of endorphins that follows such an achievement, I said to my wife, "It's amazing that something so small can be so annoying." I didn't want to say "painful." She's birthed two children, after all. The fact is, though, that it dominated my attention until I was able to get it out. It was a nuisance. And while it wouldn't have prevented me from completing ANY of the tasks I needed/wanted to do this evening, it still had to go...at once! And also...Oww! Where's my daughter's Boo-Boo Bunny?

Following my near-fatal ordeal with the splinter, I had a bit of a revelation. We have splinters in our brains, you and me. Small, insignificant hindrances - whether people or situations - that we shouldn't endow with such power over us. Much more important things required our attention, and yet we allow ourselves to focus on petty ordeals. Perhaps it's a situation at home, a tough colleague, or a minor traffic altercation. Maybe it's something more vague like a general lack of excitement for the work we do. These things can rent space in our heads. When we've identified who/what these splinters are, then what? Should we continue to obsess about them or instead recognize them for what they are? They might be worthy of some short-term attention lest they work themselves in deeper and become harder to deal with later. But then we need to move on.

I suppose that's the lesson I took from my splinter trauma. Something tiny can cause quite a bit of distraction and discomfort. Best not to blow it out of proportion and surrender. At the same time, maybe don't ignore it either. Have that uncomfortable conversation. Accept that some people are bad drivers and that you shouldn't let it ruin your day. Stand up for yourself at work. Be heard. Set some quiet time aside to answer the questions, "Am I happy? And if not, what do I plan to do about it?"

I'm splinter free for the time being. How about you? What are some of the splinters in your life?