No, I am not referring to the scale that refers to growth of a company. The scale I am referring to is what that you use to measure something.

Yesterday I was at the gym. I was at the end of my mini exercise routine on an exercise machine. A young boy started exercising on a similar equipment right next to me. His Dad setup the equipment for him and the boy was in a hurry to finish his exercise. After some time, it seemed like he was competing with me. I smiled a couple of times and continued what I was doing.

After ten minutes, I was about to wrap up, the boy turned to me and said, “Did you see, I can do it faster than you..”

I smiled and said, “You sure can, good job.”

He smiled a big time and I left. I never bothered to tell him that his equipment was set to level 3 as opposed to level 10 on my equipment. It would be silly to argue with a small boy and prove him something. The best response I thought would be to simply agree and make his day.

Think about it…

This behavior is not limited to young people. Professionals fall into the trap as well. Someone you know my be engaged with being “very proud” of what they have accomplished or contributed albeit forgetting to notice the scale with which they are measuring what matters.

The response from others watching them will be similar to my response to that young boy – “a virtual pat on the back.” Rarely will anybody has time to make them notice the “scale” in question. Why confront and add more drama, right?

Watch your scale before speaking or better yet, don’t make your accomplishments or contributions a big deal as there is always a lot happening at a “different scale” across the world.

Image Courtesy: Science Toys