During my childhood, our family had a rental property that would often need yard work and maintenance. I remember weekends that the siblings and I would tag along with Dad to help pull weeds, paint or do other odd chores we would be assigned.

I distinctly remember one scorching summer day pulling weeds.  It was hot and dusty, and as a 6-year-old there were many other things I would have rather been doing.  Needless to say, pulling weeds with tiny kid hands made it even more challenging.  ‘Get the root’ was the voice in my head from my dad harping on getting the whole weed.  Boy, did I want to please him!  Adding insult to injury, on the other side of the fence was the sound of kids splashing, whooping and hollering as they jumped into their swimming pool.  To me that pool was an oasis just beyond my reach. I remember peering between the fence boards longing to be part of the water wonder fun.  The taunting of what I couldn’t have made my job a struggle. 

When we are in the midst of responsibilities, how easy is it to become distracted with the things slightly beyond our reach? We want to do our job well, but the desire for what we can’t have at the moment becomes a distraction and a weight that creates a struggle.  The task becomes a tedious undertaking.  Our mood changes and without realizing it, we’re now sporting a dark cloud above us.

I had a lovely coworker with developmental disabilities who assisted me with some simple daily duties.  He always came in with smile and a great attitude.  His work motto was, ‘Do good work’.  It doesn’t matter what the chore is at hand, with the proper attitude the process towards finishing can become more palatable.  Stay the course, put your head down, change the woe-is-me attitude into a get ‘er done mindset and the task becomes motivation to propel us forward towards completion.  Completing the work is a step towards the oasis and joy of jumping into the pool.