MM Ep 48: Big Doors Swing on Small Hinges

We share a simple phrase that changes how we see our daily choices: big doors swing on small hinges. We explore how small moments compound into big problems or big opportunities, then we challenge you to spot the hinge moments shaping your life right now.
• Thursday Thoughts and why we end with a Post-it note message
• What “big doors swing on small hinges” means in real life
• How small actions create compounding results over time
• The negative side of “it’s not a big deal” thinking
• The positive power of small character habits and kindness
• A practical challenge to identify your hinge moments and adjust them

https://aarondegler.com/

Transcript

Welcome And Thursday Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to a mindful moment. Thank you for taking a moment to join me today. Each week on Thursdays, we have a Thursday thoughts. It's a virtual call that we do. And it's just kind of random thoughts that I have throughout the week about different things I've shared throughout the week. Sometimes I expand on them, sometimes it's things I've watched or read or something like that. I just share it with the group and kind of ask questions and we kind of talk about some of those things. And it's just some little more than sometimes when we go into other things, but I always end each Thursday thoughts with on my desk, I have tons of post notes, and I usually jot things down as I hear them or read them, so I just remember them. So each Thursday I end with a post-it note thought of the day. It's something that I've found on my desk and that I share with them. And so this week it was big doors swing on small hinges. And usually I explain a little bit about what the thought is, what's on the post-it note, but this week I said you'll have to wait until this episode of Mindful Moments comes out to learn a little bit more about big doors swing on small hinges. So what does that mean? It really means that those small things that we do that don't seem very important, very big. They're just it's a small hinge, it's not going to make a big difference. But sometimes those small things lead to other things where they compound. And so is what it means is big doors swing on small hinges. So big problems, big issues, big things often start as small little things. It just starts with, and that's exactly what it means: big doors, big problems, big things swing on the small hinges. The small things that we do that we don't think really make a difference, they do. And just as it goes with some of those negative things, we go, this is not a big deal. It doesn't really matter. It does matter, it does make a difference, sometimes in a negative way, but it can do the same thing on a positive way. The the small things sometimes we do for others doesn't go unnoticed. It can make a difference. The small things in our character that we just do, that's part of our character, that doesn't seem like a big deal. It's just kind of what we do. It swings open sometimes big opportunities, big doors, big uh conversations, big things happen. And that goes with either the positive or the negative. We just have to remember that the small things matter. They matter so much. And it's just an easy way to remember big doors swing on small hinges. It's just a great way to remember that even though they're small, big things can still happen with them. If you if you I picture what I think about, I think these little bitty hinges and this big door that's just swinging back and forth. And those small hinges are holding it up, and that's what happens to us sometimes. And the negative, sometimes it's just this little thing, it's not a big deal, but it holds up the big negative thing that we're trying to battle, that we're trying to fight. It started with the small thing. Same thing with the opportunities that we get. It big opportunity can just be on one small thing we did or one small thing that we've done over and over and over. So my challenge is you have some small hinges that have been swinging some big doors because big doors swing on small hinges. And pay attention to those small hinge moments, those small hinge things that don't seem that big because you can probably look at your big door. Maybe it's a big opportunity, maybe it's a big problem that you can look back and go, wow, I saw some hinge moments that if I would have altered them a little bit, it would have changed how this door swung. So that's the challenge. Take a look. What is your door swinging on? What type of hinges? And was there a hinge moment you could have changed the swing of that door? Thank you for joining me on this week's Mindful Moment. Look forward to seeing you right here next time on Mindful Moments.