Why Some Things Are Harder Than They Look
I had studied the problem, attended classes, bought a video, and read some books. Overkill, I thought. After all, how hard can it be to stick squares of ceramic tile on the floor? Some would have to be cut with special tools, but I could rent those and make all of my complex cuts on one day. More money saved.
A bit of ciphering led me to layout that flowed smoothly from room to room--and looked pretty good to boot. I congratulated myself. All that remained was buying the materials, mixing mortar, and slapping down tiles. Four or five days at most should do it.
My suspicions began to be stirred as I cut off the first doorjamb. It seemed to take a long time. But I had plenty of time. No prob. The rest of the job will surely go faster.
It didn't. Without experience, mixing the mortar to the right consistency was by trial and error--mostly error. It was also harder to spread the mortar than the video had made it look. Plus, nobody had told me I would have to be up and down on my hands and knees at least a thousand times a day. That must not have troubled the young guys teaching the classes.
After the second day, my bright vision had dimmed considerably. But, hey! I would really begin to slap those tiles down the next day. Progress was inevitable.
But it was not to be. My body was in rebellion, and muscles that had been silent for years began raising a ruckus. Unbelievable soreness forced brisk ups and downs into slow motion.
Thankfully, we had other commitments the remainder of the week that let me escape the tyranny of the tiles. Occasionally, I would peer down upon them, even dropping to the floor for a bug's eye view. The job was really pretty sloppy despite my confidence and best intentions. The guys with experience must know a lot that I don't.
Sometime over the weekend, wisdom prevailed. We hired a professional to do the job. He was gracious and even tried to compliment me on the mess I had created. It had taken me three days to do about five percent of the job. He did it all in five days.
Those who make something look easy have a hidden resource--experience. And their experience probably came from their own trials, errors, and failures.
Humorist Josh Billings quipped, "Experience is a school where a man learns what a big fool he has been." I'm inclined to agree. There's a reason some things are harder than they look. They're really harder than they look.
Copyright 2000 James McAlister
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