A Journey of a Thousand Miles

Once upon a time, I had a job where I went from the worst employee to the best within 24 hours. Do you know how I accomplished that goal? It is so simple that anyone can do it. I got committed, engaged, attached, devoted and faithful. Here is what happened: On Tuesday, I was thinking “I hate my job.” and I half-assed everything at work. I had an ‘I don’t give a shit attitude.’ I did the bare minimum that was required of me. Sometimes the boss asked me to stay over and I refused. I worked my scheduled time and that was it. Looking back, I can tell my coworkers did not really like me. They were staying over their scheduled shift to accomplish company goals. They were probably doing extra work because of me. Nobody really talked to me. They did not expect very much out of me. They gave me simple, mundane tasks that they knew I would not screw up. I did not feel appreciated or valued as an employee or a person really. I was afraid that they were going to fire me because of my bad attitude. I felt like I was not “bringing anything to the party” so it would have been easy to get rid of me. I felt like more of a liability than an asset. I felt like people were talking behind me back. I felt like people were blaming me for all of the mistakes in the company even if I was not making them.

                On Wednesday, I woke up and told myself “I am going to give my all today.” I am going to go above and beyond. I am going to be a company man; not a kiss-ass though. I will put company needs before my own personal needs just for today and see what happens. I am not going to act like a worker, but I am going to pretend I am the owner of the company and my name is on the sign in front of the store. My reputation is attached to this store. I want to be proud and tell people, no, I am going to brag, gloat and boast about where I work. If I see trash on the floor, I pick it up.  One good thing happened today:  my boss was so surprised when I told her I could stay past my scheduled shift.

                On Thursday, everyone treated me differently. They were more social with me. I had this feeling of “I am one of you now.” Earlier in the week, I had this vibe of “You think your shit don’t stink?” coming from my co-workers. I gave my all two days in a row now. I stayed late again today.

                On Friday, my manager was giving me more challenging tasks. Tasks that said “I trust you to do a good job. I trust you as a person.” My manager had me doing important paper work and taking money to the bank. I know what is expected of me. My co-workers do not blame all mistakes on me anymore. When I do make a mistake, they are more forgiving now. I leave at the end of the day, knowing that I did a good job. I did my best. There was nothing else I could have done. When I go to work tomorrow, I don't have to worry about my co-workers saying "Why didn't you do this? How come this did not get completed?" I know I did my best and if a task did not get completed, I have a good reason. Notice I used the word reason and not excuse.  I don’t worry about getting fired or replaced any more. I create value. I am a valuable asset to the company now. I generate a large amount of profit for the company. My supervisors and co-workers view me as a dependable person. They know they can count on me. Whenever I want a day off from work, all I have to do is ask and they will give it to me. I noticed it is tit for tat in the business world. “You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.” I anticipate myself getting a raise or a promotion soon.

                The time frame was sped up for this example. All of this did not come to pass in two days. It was actually several months. BUT the decision to go from half-assed to fully engaged only took one second. That could be you also! “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”- Lao Tzu. Your single step to start off with is to decide to be engaged. If you can’t give 100% to what you are doing, then get out.