Finally got a clean termination on my first try after 3 months of struggling

I kept getting loose connectors that would fail the pull test, then an old timer told me to strip the jacket back one finger's width further than I thought. Tried it on a job last Tuesday and every single connector passed first try. Has anyone else had that moment where one small change just clicks?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryh201mo ago

Have you ever noticed that a lot of the best fixes in life come from doing less, not more? It sounds like your old timer understood that you were overthinking the strip length and actually making the job harder by trying too hard. I've seen this with woodworking too - beginners always want to use more sandpaper and more pressure, but a light touch and a clean setup usually gives a better finish. It's like our brains convince us that a bigger effort means a better result, but most of the time the real trick is just finding the right balance. Once you let go and trust that one small adjustment, everything falls into place.

west.anna1mo ago

I remember reading an article once about how the Japanese concept of "ma" or negative space applies to just about everything, including how we work. The idea is that the pauses and empty spaces are just as important as the actions themselves. Sounds like your old timer was applying that same logic to the strip length. It's funny how we're trained to think busyness equals productivity, when really the smartest move is often to step back and see where we're overcomplicating things.