When there is a problem in life, relationships, and business, we often are reactionary to the symptoms, not the real problem. The word symptom means, sign or an indicator of something else.

At our lake house, we sit at the bottom of a steep street at the lowest point. When it rains heavy, we get all the spill over from the street. Our neighbor’s yards are fine, and we get (in some cases) overtaken with water. I have three drains in our driveway to sweep the water away from the house and for years I have been trying to fix the symptoms of the problem instead of fixing the real problem. The real issue is to get the water diverted before it even gets to our driveway.

As I was thinking about this water problem recently, I stopped and realized we often do this with other areas of our life, business, health, finances, and relationships. We want to fix or repair what we see today instead of working on the real problem. A friend of mine used to say, “the best way to remember your marriage anniversary is to just forget it once.” Ha. Sometimes, flowers a day late doesn’t fix the real problem.

It is that way many times in our health, our work, and our relationships. We need to get the core issue identified and as best we can, get that part right and the symptoms will go away. Metaphorically speaking, we want the exterior of the home to look good when the foundation could be crumbling. Fix the foundation before you repaint the shutters. Fix the person in the mirror first and the rest of it will fall into place. You will also be much happier and more content. KT