MM210 - Reinventing the Wheel

We are often admonished not to reinvent the wheel. That can be good advice. Sometimes we make things harder than they need to be. However, we can indeed make a better wheel when it is called for.

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♫ Trenches by Pop Evil ♫

*Alex*

Welcome to Morning Mindset. A daily dose of practical wit and wisdom with a professional educator & trainer, Amazon best selling author, United States Marine, Television, and Radio host, Paul G. Markel. Each episode will focus on positive and productive ways to strengthen your mindset and help you improve your relationships, career goals, and overall well-being. Please welcome your host; Paul G. Markel.

*Professor Paul*

Hello and welcome back to the Morning Mindset podcast. I am your host Paul Markel, and today we're going to talk about Reinventing the wheel how many times have you been told? Whether it wasn't a professional standpoint a business standpoint or whether you're in school or what have you to not reinvent the wheel. We've often been admonished or we are often admonished by others not to reinvent the wheel, and what does that mean?
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Well, if you're young crumb cruncher and you've never heard that for some crazy reason don't try and reinvent the wheel or we don't need to reinvent the wheel simply means we don't need to over think it or a solution already exists, such as the wheel, right? If the solution already exists then use the existing solution. Don't try and come up with a new one when the solution already exists that could be very good advice. However, you know, and we do sometimes when we try to make things harder than they need to be lots of that's where the wheel advice comes in nonetheless.
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However, also, can we make a better wheel? Well, if you if you look at it for me a literal standpoint, let's say the original wheel was made of what you know, we all love to see the cartoons or the movies or what-have-you where they portray a caveman. With a chisel and Hammer like cavemen had chisels and hammers. I'm pretty sure cavemen didn't have steel chisels and steel hammers or whatever but all rights as a rock. They're carving a wheel out of stone. Right the original, you know the wheel and someone says, you know, we don't need to make that out of stone. That's way too hard. Let's make it out of wood.
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So they made wooden wheels and then someone came along and said, you know wooden wheels are nice and they work but wouldn't it be better if we use some type of a cushioning material and rubber and spokes and are and all that. So it is true that you know, the wheel was invented. I don't know 2,000 years ago or twenty-five hundred years ago or 3000. I don't know long time. When Anacletus was walking around they invented? He had Wheels, right? But the wheels of thousand years ago the wheels of today are different because the wheels are today are more advanced.
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Now, you may be confronted with a problem for which you already have a solution or there may be a tool that seems to work pretty well, but the tool could be better, and that ladies and gentlemen, that is the that's the that's the not the solution the conundrum that you will find yourself in. Sometimes people will advise you to okay, you're thinking too hard don't reinvent the wheel we say, okay, but that's when you need to ask yourself. You need to be genuinely honest with yourself and say. Are we really trying to reinvent the wheel? Are we trying to come up with a solution when a solution already exists or we wasting our time or on the other hand, are we trying to take an existing solution an existing tool and make it better to make improvements upon it?
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Now you might be saying well. Every time I step forward and I do this I'm always trying to make improvements and that's great if you are, but I've also say this many times when people say don't reinvent the wheel or at least in my own personal experience when I've been admonished not to reinvent the wheel it wasn't because it was impossible to find another solution and it wasn't because. We could not make improvements and the in the way we were doing things it was because the person who told me don't reinvent the wheel did not want to put forth any effort to make improvements.
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They didn't want to put any thought into changes because well that would require effort and time and commitment and risk. Yes, risk many people will not attempt to make improvements on anything because they're afraid of the risk. Well, what if I try and I fail our what if I try to do that and someone else doesn't like it or nobody appreciates it or no one gets it or no one understands or what it what if I do all that work and no one cares. Better to just keep things the way that they are. You have to decide what kind of a person you're going to be.
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Are you going to be the person that tries to make the wheel better when they can try to make improvements on existing Solutions tools what-have-you ways of doing things or are you going to be the person that tells other people? Whoa pump the brakes slow down there, buddy. Don't think too hard. Have you ever has anyone ever told you? That isn't anyone ever said? Oh you're thinking too hard. You're thinking too hard. Can it be can that be true? Is it possible to think too hard? Hmm, I don't know about thinking too hard.
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There is such a thing as overthinking something. But what you have to do when you find yourself in that position, whether it's at work or at home or in a professional relationship or whether you're just being creative. Yeah that little conversation with yourself. So you say am I legitimately overthinking this am I trying to reinvent the wheel or is there a way for me to make the wheel better? Alright, ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to treat a family member or a friend or child you have an adult child or a child who's in high school or Junior High and you want to give them a leg up on life purchase them the book Morning Mindset: a 30 Day Plan for a More Positive and Productive Life. I bet you they'll enjoy it.
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Even if you don't buy a coffee cup if you believe that there's someone else in your life that could benefit from positive and productive talk and thinking turn them on to the show. Leave us a review let people know about the Morning Mindset podcast. Alright, that's it Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you. Happy New Year and all that good stuff. I am your host Paul Markel and I'll talk to you again, real soon.

[OUTRO]

♫ Trenches by Pop Evil ♫

*Alex*

Thank you for spending time with us today. To get show notes, submit a topic request, for more from your host Paul G. Markel, visit MorningMindsetPodcast.com. That’s MorningMindsetPodcast.com. Please leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player, we appreciate your time & effort, and we look forward to reading your honest feedback.