Excuse the slightly crass analogy of a toilet running, but my 3-year-old can’t get the flush quite right. So I frequently walk by the bathroom and hear the faint sound of a country stream trickling – only instead of an adorable stream, it is the city water I pay for falling into the void.  

I have no idea how much extra water this costs, but it certainly all adds up.

The only way to stop it from running all day is to give it a solid flush. 

The striking thing is, it feels like a total waste to flush the toilet for no reason. It is way less theoretical; I know that will send two gallons of water down the drain. 

So, even though it is a present waste of water, I can end the slow, long-term bleed of water by pushing the little handle and sending a whole tank of water on its way. 

I wonder what slow trickle you have in your life, business, or relationships. The kind that you can ignore, but it adds up to a significant drain on your energy and resources. Maybe today is the day you need to walk over and face it head-on, even if for a short time it feels like a more significant loss than letting the trickle continue. 

It’s not always easy to proactively confront an issue when you can continue to let it trickle, but spending a little extra energy today saves way more cumulative loss down the road.