Where the mind leads

By GrahamLewis · Dec 1, 2021 · 1.2K · 2
  1. I seem to recall an axiom from my road biking days that you must be careful to focus on where you want to go (e.g. follow the road), rather to focus on where you don't want to go (e.g. off the edge of the pavement), because your mind will take you in the direction of your attention.

    Today I got tired of driving my old car with the damaged driver-side mirror, so I went online to see how hard it would be to fix it. I came across a You Tube video with my exact car and a promise that it only takes a few minutes to replace it. After watching it, it occurred to me I could do one better -- I could take off the damaged mirror, glue it, and put it back, saving $40 or so dollars.

    So I followed the diss-assembly instructions carefully. Or, rather, tried to. At one point the narrator pointed out the three nuts to remove and in doing so noted that one must be careful in doing so, because it's possible to drop one down into the door panel and that doing so "will needlessly complicate your life."

    I immediately wished he hadn't said that.

    Because as I unscrewed the first nut, ever so carefully keeping my fingers on it, keeping in mind his admonition, it slipped past my fingers and down into the door. As I knew it would as soon as I resolved not to let it happen.

    Because I let my mind lead.

    Silly me.

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  1. GrahamLewis
    Update.

    I went and bought four replacement nuts, which was good, because three more of them fell into the door,* and I finally said fuck it and just tightened two of the three bolts. Close enough for government work, as we used to say in my respectable government days.

    *In the original assembly process, it's obvious that the mirror was attached before the door panel was put on, but I am not about to remove and replace the door panel simply to attach the mirror. This will work.
    GrahamLewis, Dec 2, 2021
  2. Vaughan Quincey
    A mind full of fear rarely a good leader makes.

    "will needlessly complicate your life." - Scares anyone nowadays. You quit thinking afterwards.
    Vaughan Quincey, Dec 5, 2021
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