Life is full of decisions and difficulty.  Many people affectionately refer to this phenomenon as ‘drama’ to depict the similarities between life’s situations and television soap opera’s.  One of the noted tendencies for many people is to nit-pick on small details and create drama about things of very minimal importance.  When embroiled in the midst of such activities, many people get so wrapped up in their emotions that they lose perspective about the relative importance of what their angst is directed toward.

This phenomenon is frequently referred to as “Majoring in the Minors” as a clever depiction of people with a tendency to spend a majority of their time on very minor things.  Unfortunately, this phenomenon frequently spreads out to personal, professional, and financial aspects of our lives.  How many times have do people obsess over small perceived injustices while neglecting their interpersonal relationships?  How frequently do people disparage their boss or manager for treating them in a manner they believe to be unfair instead of focusing on ways they can produce value?  How often do we hear news stories about the state of social security and medicare versus practical advice on becoming self-sufficient so that such ‘fall-back’ programs are not needed?

When we find ourselves in the middle of an emotionally charged situation, it is frequently difficult to regain the perspective necessary for recognizing these situations.  This impact can compound on itself when multiple parties become emotionally charged at the same time.  In this case, both sides will be attempting to prove the other person wrong without lending any thought to the importance of the point that is being argued.  I have found that this phenomenon manifests itself most frequently in matters of religion and politics, since many people have very strong opinions but very little ability to influence the opinions of others.

In the end, it is critical for each of us to recognize whether we are engaged in priorities of great importance or gratifying our emotions by Majoring in the Minors.  Maintaining this perspective is not always easy, but it never ceases to be beneficial.  As each of us go through business and life, it is to our advantage to engage in consistent self reflection to ensure that our perspective is clear and our priorities are straight.