Overdramatization

Overdramatization

Words add
up...a lot.

Growing up, and still today, I've been a fan of the cowboy western novels of yesteryear.  There is a series of audio dramatizations from Louis L'Amour that bring the West to life.  These are essentially audiobooks, but with added audio sound effects.  They effectively allow your imagination to run wild in a way that movies/screens can't do.  The "overdramatization" effectively makes the story bigger than life.  That's a great thing when it comes to entertainment.  It's less of a great thing when we use it in our own lives to blow our problems out of proportion.  

Not Everest,
and that's ok.

We recently heard someone talking about a pretty routine life situation regarding their car payment, and they described it as "it's just my Goliath."  When you think about the magnitude of the circumstances surrounding and facing a literal giant with everything on the line, it's almost unimaginable in our comfortable day and age.  Double down on that with David's challenge on center stage, and not only life-and-death, but the high stakes of a nation on the line...and there is no real comparison in our lives.  When we cheapen David's readiness for sacrifice and courage in the face of challenge, it's insulting at best. 

Make it
feel big.

In the David example with the car payment, when we equate something that is relatively trivial to something of such magnitude, it helps us excuse our inability to make progress and helps us ignore taking action.  The right sizing of our problems is critical to moving ahead.  When we remove drama from the equation, we can begin to see the problem for the real size that it is.  In first responderhood, we call this the "size-up," where we ascertain "how big is big and how bad is bad" so that we can properly apply resources to solve the problem.  

Build success.

In another recent example from when our kids were preschoolers, after climbing a nearby mountain, our kids equated it to, "that was just like Everest."  For their ages, it was certainly a challenge, and they rose to meet it...conquered it...but it wasn't Everest.  We can be proud of and celebrate the progress and results without blowing them out of proportion.  When we elevate our kids' peewee sports to the same level as if they were playing at Wrigley Field, we reduce the commitment needed to actually get to Wrigley Field (or whatever the equivalent will be in their own life).  

Training wheels
fall off.

When I was deployed to Hurricane Harvey, and the magnitude was nearly unimaginable, several of us compared it with some of the old timers to Hurricane Katrina.  We "overdramatized" what was a beyond-belief situation in Texas' Gulf Coast.  The old timers informed us that, while horrifically damaging, Harvey was a "cute little brother" to Katrina.  When we, as the response team for a major non-profit, came to the realization that others had conquered far bigger and more complex problems, it helped us find some additional confidence to get the job done.  

The dramatic view
is worth it.

In another home example, using family finance, if we equate financial freedom, a million dollars, or whatever impossible goal, to success, we allow it to be an untackleable challenge.  In reality, spending less than we make and investing consistently over time means that with patience and diligence...those goals are in reach.  Similarly, raising kids who can do great things in life in the future is equally doable with a similar recipe.  Chances are, raising kids is likely not a "Goliath problem" where we have to do one big right thing, but rather a trust and patience thing like Noah or Jacob.  

Be a team.

As we wrap it up, this is a reminder to right-size our problems...and our successes both at home and in the rest of our lives.  It's important that we try to boil the drama out of our situations wherever possible.  Keep the magic and the spice of life...but don't overblow it out of proportion.  

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out an area of your life where there is too much drama.  Pick out a particular problem and define it with three criteria that help to right-size it.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of removing your Goliaths.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Louis L'Amour Chick Bowdrie Stories

- 12 Easy Ways to Shrink Annoying Problems Down to Size