The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It

There is an old saying that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

After many years of working in different places, meeting different people and watching life unfold, I have come to question that wisdom.

Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side simply because you haven't been watering yours.

I have seen this in careers.

Someone becomes frustrated with their job and starts admiring another company. Better salary. Better office. Better people. Better opportunities.

So they move.

Six months later, they discover that the new place also has difficult bosses, demanding clients, office politics and meetings that should probably have been emails.

The grass wasn't necessarily greener.

They were just looking at it from a distance.

I have seen the same thing in business.

We look at somebody else's successful company and wonder why ours isn't doing as well.

What we don't see are the years behind the success.

The sleepless nights.

The mistakes.

The difficult customers.

The money they kept reinvesting.

The opportunities they missed.

We see the green grass.

We don't see the watering.

Relationships are no different.

Sometimes we become fascinated by someone else's marriage, friendship or family life because everything looks effortless from outside.

But every relationship has weeds.

Every marriage has difficult seasons.

Every friendship needs attention.

Sometimes what is missing is not a better relationship.

It is simply more watering.

Of course, there are times when you should leave.

Some jobs are wrong for you.

Some businesses should be closed.

Some relationships are unhealthy.

But before jumping over the fence, perhaps it is worth asking:

Have I done enough with what I already have?

Over the years, I have learned that almost everyone carries something.

The successful executive has pressure.

The wealthy businessman has problems.

The farmer has weather.

The contractor has clients.

The employee has a boss.

And the boss has employees.

From a distance, everyone else's life looks remarkably well organised.

Up close, it is usually just another garden.

Perhaps the real question is not, "Why is their grass greener?"

It is:

"What are they doing that I am not?"

Growth is rarely dramatic.

You plant.

You water.

You weed.

You wait.

Then you do it again.

That is how careers grow.

That is how businesses grow.

That is how relationships grow.

That is how life grows.

So before you climb over the fence chasing someone else's greener grass, have a good look at your own.

Maybe it doesn't need a new owner.

Maybe it just needs some water.

Because sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side.

But sometimes, quite simply, you stopped watering yours.