“It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude, its gratitude that brings us happiness…”
~unknown
I remember complaining about having to “go to work” on a weekend when I was 16 years old.
My friends were heading to the lake, going camping. I was going to miss out, yet again, because I had taken the graveyard shift at Superstore in St Boniface, Manitoba. To make it even more interesting – I had to take a bus from Transcona. This meant having to leave early evening on a Friday night and transfer from a downtown Winnipeg bus station….a little indimidating at night!
Plenty of reasons to complain.
The voice in my head reminded me to be grateful for this opportunity.
I had only started a few months ago, and earned my way to this shift. The person in charge of the graveyard shift had to completely clean out all the produce right to the bare shelves and scrub. It was a trusted position. Few people wanted it, as it interfered with the weekend and fun time. It was also pretty disgusting as all the rotten juice of tomatoes, potatoes, and various unidentified worms, bugs and flies ended up in the soup you got to clean up.
Yet it paid a premium for the shift and it was a long shift. When you are 16 – this meant some really good bread in your pocket!
I was grateful. Someone trusted me to take on this job, and I wanted to make sure they knew how grateful I was for the opportunity by working my A$$ off. Making sure that not only all the jobs on the checklist were done, but even a little more. That way NOBODY would ever replace me on this fruitful shift!
From the time I graduated high school at 17 until I was 30 years old I worked every weekend. Drove across Saskatchewan and Northern Alberta. Put 100,000km a year on my vehicle to show my gratitude for the opportunity to serve this dental community.
I appreciate the time and personal investment YOU made as an entrepreneur! The risk to open a clinic, hang a shingle, and HOPE someone would walk in the door and give you a chance. The endless hours you spend awake at night, coming to the clinic on the weekends and working those extra hours. The stress of finding the right team in a competitive job market. The challenge of even being able to pay yourself when costs seem to be sky rocketing….
Whenever we face a challenge in life, we tend to complain. It’s a great way to procrastinate. Its too hard, and you can find every excuse not to start the job. Nobody will ever pay enough to do the job either, and it can never be done right anyways.
It’s my opinion that the successful people of the world look at challenges different. Those who find a way to compete and complete these challenges can be proud. Feel accomplished.
They are grateful.
This is the way I feel just because you might have taken a moment to read this blog. To allow me the chance to visit you, to work FOR your office to help you with your daily challenges. It might be “just cotton rolls” or simply that you need a better price on something. Maybe it’s more.
The opportunity to help others is something to be grateful for, and ultimately being allowed these chances, and competing and completing them leads to happiness.
You do it every day.
Every patient that comes to see you for a check up. Trusts your opinion. Comes back for treatment. Brings their family and refers their friends.
That’s because of you.
That job you got hired to do – maybe you are a service technician. Maybe you are a customer service rep. The person in front of you is giving you a chance. If you approach this with graciousness – you will likely get a real sense of accomplishment when you perform your skill. Better than any compensation, is the trust and sincere appreciation from another human being.
Thankyou for sticking with me over all these years.
A little help from the 37 year veteran – maybe a better deal on your supplies. Your equipment. A little help finding an associate, or a way to help recruit new team members. Maybe a way to help you clean out your used equipment from your closet. An evaluation of your business. A report on your numbers.
Help renovating, finding a lease space, finance, accounting, networking. Learn about the newest procedures, getting CE. Finding ways to reduce overhead and increasing revenue. Learning “TIMEfactors”….
Maybe you just need a box of cheap cotton rolls….
Either way I am GRATEFUL
GRATEFUL
