Don’t get the cart before the horse

Lorelle wrote about the lone ranger. Alright, that wasn’t the whole story but she did mention the lone ranger. The thing is a lot of people don’t know who the lone ranger is. And there’s more…

Take the classic expression “Don’t put the cart before the horse“. How many of you have ever seen a horse and cart? Does it even make sense if you were born after 1970?

So I’m looking for a new metaphor (okay it may be an analogy) and I found it this morning. When you make a peanut butter and honey sandwich, always put the honey on first.

Why you ask? Well if you dip your knife into the peanut butter first, then you’re gonna get peanut butter in the honey jar. Doh! Really… it was an epiphany to me!

Now it may not be earth shattering to get peanut butter in the honey, but it works better the other way. Sometimes the order of things just makes it a little better.

For instance:

• Listen before you speak

  Waiting a moment to speak until you have really listened can be the difference between looking like a fool and looking like the source of wisdom itself. In fact really listening might alleviate the need for you to say anything.
  Speaking before you listen could just be messy.
  Why do we do that?

• Look before you leap

  Ever heard the expression, ‘unlucky in love’? Maybe you’re not unlucky so much as not looking. Before you sign a contract; read it. Before you jump into a relationship; examine all the participants. That’s right I said all of them.
  Leap before you look or you’ve got peanut bits in the honey.
  Ever happened to you?

• Plan before you act

  How much will it cost? How much time will it take? Do you have the resources, time and energy to finish what you’re starting? You might end up saying no instead of filling up your schedule with things that you shouldn’t be doing. Remember… get the order right: foundations first, then walls.
  Plan to put the honey on before the peanut butter.

The difference between hot water and boiling water is only 1?.
The difference between average and above average is only 1%.

And sometimes the difference between mediocre and outstanding is just a matter of the order.

Don’t get the peanut butter in the honey!

Do you need to change the order of something? How is it messy? Let’s talk!