The Ups and Downs of the Job World

My life is never dull. I hear people say that about me all the time. While this is true, it does not always seem to be a good thing. My life, like everyone else, is filled with peaks and valleys. Fortunately, I have good people surrounding me to keep me hopeful in the low times. They also keep me grounded in the high times.

 

I remember after college it took about ten months before I found a decent job. I held jobs, but they were nothing in which I wanted to launch a career. I finally started my career in 1988. During that career, I have held jobs, that while I enjoyed them, most people would not want or could not handle. A common refrain I heard was, "it takes a special kind of person to do what you do." Actually, I always thought it would only take someone with bills to pay and a willingness to do their job.

 

Everything went great until 1995 when my department became contracted out. I was given a buyout package and worked for the contractors for four and a half years. During that time, I put in several applications to get rehired by the company. Three out of four positions were given to someone else for a job I was already doing. Politics was always involved. However, the fourth application, the hiring supervisor told me he would fight the politics to get me hired. It took a few months, but he succeeded. I was rehired by the company I started with in 1988.

 

The supervisor told me that the reason he continued to interview me and fight for me was because during all of the rejections, I maintained a great attitude and continued doing my job correctly.

 

I have had several up and down situations arise while at this company. Life would not be an adventure if everything went the way I planned. I have learned that no matter what comes your way, tomorrow always comes. You may be knocked down. You may need to pick yourself up. You may be celebrated. You may need to humble yourself.

 

Attitude and job performance keeps me going. I do my job. I do it to the best of my ability, and I am willing to go above and beyond what some are willing to do to make sure things work smoothly. Someone asked me the other day after putting in my notice at my second job, "who will replace you and do what you do?" My answer was simple. Whoever does there job the way it was meant to be done. The company survived before I arrived and will remain that way after I am gone. I am thankful for the opportunity they gave me when others would not.

 

Laziness will get you nowhere good. You need to take the bull by the horns and make it do what you want it to do. Obstacles will always arise. Jump over them. Push them out of the way. Take charge of your career and make no excuses.

 

Keep a good attitude and don't let people or circumstances define who you are. Overcome. Endure. Finish the race.

A GLASS HALF FULL

I am a natural born skeptic. I do not believe everything people tell me. People quote fiction as if it were fact. I do not believe what I believe blindly. I research and study, sometimes a little sometime a great deal. When proven wrong, I have changed my beliefs based on facts and research.

I also like to look at things from an open point of view. I will debate a point, even if I agree with you, to see if I you can strengthen my viewpoint or to see a weakness in my opinion. (This drives my wife crazy.)

My outlooks are often different from those around me. Those who think they know me would often be surprised. However, I am not bashful about my beliefs. If you want to know, ask.

This week has been a demonstration of reactions to things that have happened in this world. Election results stirred protests, riots and a call for rule changes by those that do not like the outcome. NFL Football games brought the question on the radio, “should this rule be changed?” Racism has again brought the worst in people from more than one culture.

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Some people will see everything happening in a pessimistic way. To me, the glass is half-full.

I am not blind to the things that are happening. I also do not think the world is doomed. The world may have some negative things in it. It also has some wonderful things taking place.

Approximately 75,000 people were born in the United States last week.  Some will question kind of world awaits them. I prefer to think that many of these will be great success stories and others may bring something positive to this world.

Some people complain about how much money actors and musicians make or with what kind of role models they are.  I prefer to look at what some do with their fame.  Last week, Metallica collected nine tons of food for malnourished children In Colombia.

Some people dwell on the problem of sickness and disease, while a 12-year-old boy learned to sew and has made about 800 teddy bears to give to the sick children in the Royal Hobart Hospital in Australia to bring Joy.

Sure, there are many messed up things in the world. You alone control how you think and what you believe. What will be your mindset? Will you complain about everything? Will you lose hope? Do not dwell on negativity. Be part of a positive solution. You cannot do everything, but you can add something positive to someone’s life or to the world in general.

Do not ignore the facts but look at them is a positive way. You may even begin to see the half-filled glass as an opportunity. Life is great if you make it that way. It all begins with your attitude. 

HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK

Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is a wonderful thing. We hope for the best. We hope for a brighter tomorrow. We hope to feel better. There are many things for which to have hope. However, sometimes the things we hope for do not come when we would like them.

Friday morning, my son went to have a procedure performed that hopefully would relieve his pain. He came out of that appointment frustrated and disappointed. It turns out this was not the procedure but a consultation about having the procedure. Hope was not lost but delayed. A little over an hour later he received a call saying they could do the procedure that afternoon.

Just because things do not go as you want them does not mean they are not going to happen.

This happened with a job I applied for years ago. I interviewed for four separate openings for the same position with the same supervisor. Each opening was only several months apart from each other. Each time, they told me they gave the job to someone else because of some political connection. I was already performing the job as a contractor under this supervisor’s oversight. Each time I saw an unqualified person hired; it caused a sick feeling in my heart. I had a choice. Continue to have hope or give up and seek another opportunity.

I chose to continue to keep a positive attitude. I chose to continue to do my job in the best way positive. I chose to keep the hope alive.

When another interview for the same position and the same supervisor presented itself, the results were a little surprising. The “higher-ups” wanted them to hire someone with more connections again. This was not the surprising part. The supervisor told me because I kept up my work and specifically my attitude, he would fight to get me on and not hire anyone else until they let him. The process took a few months, but he and I both prevailed.

There are many times in my life when I saw hopes and dreams deferred. Sometimes my actions caused the postponement of the things for which I hoped.  Sometimes the reasons were out of my control. I can learn from my past mistakes. I can learn not to let things outside of my control define how I respond. Disappointments will arise, but my hope will continue.

Do not let disappointment steal your hope.  

 

   

   

Lessons Learned From Traffic

No one likes to be in traffic, but that is exactly where I found myself the other day. Instead of taking only forty minutes to drive home, it took over an hour. I am not a patient person and acknowledge it as one of my flaws.  However, as I watched how the drivers were operating their vehicles, it made me think about a few observations from which we may be able to learn.

Some observations made me think about how people live their lives. Those observations include the following:

A few people were cutting through parking lots to get in front of those waiting in line. There are people in this world, who do not care about following rules. They do not care about anyone else in the moment but rather only concern themselves with themselves. How much better would the world be if we chose to honor one another above ourselves?

Some people never use turn signals. This doesn’t bother me as much as it does some because over the course of my life, I have seen people using them only to have others speed up so the driver cannot change lanes. Sometimes not signaling is a sign that they do not know where they are going until it is too late. I wish everyone had direction in his or her life. Not knowing your purpose in life can be frustrating. It can make a person jump from cause to cause just trying to feel important. Everyone is important. We all have different functions in life. We will never all agree on everything. Nevertheless, one direction that we should follow is to love everyone.

One thing that particularly aggravates me is tailgaters. Getting close to my vehicle where I cannot see the bumper of your car in my review mirror will not help anyone get anywhere faster. If I am going slower than you do, get in the passing lane and pass me. Most of the time, getting in front of me only allows you to get behind the car in front of me. There are many impatient people in this world. Normally we are impatient because people do not do things as we think they should. In many of my jobs, I have learned that many times there is no one correct way of doing something. (I know some things do but not all.) Having the “I am always right” attitude only causes stress. It is arrogant to think we are better than others are. We should accept one another in love with all humility, gentleness, and patience even if that means not getting our way.

Defensive drivers are much safer. They always watch to see dangers before they arrive. Some people live life seeing what may come and preparing for it. Others fear what the future may hold and never take chances. Without taking risks, we are stuck in routines that never help us to excel. Mark Zuckerberg once said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Do not be afraid of what tomorrow may bring. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. I am not saying you will succeed every time, but failure is only after you stop trying. Every time you do not succeed. Learn from it.

I could add to the list.

·   Stingy drivers (only lets one person in front of him for the entire trip regardless of how many intersections -showed enough kindness for one day),

·   The slow driver in fast lane (slowing progress of people going somewhere), and

·    In addition, the courteous drivers (helps others in need and puts other people first.)

In our daily lives, let us remember the people around us. Do not consider yourself the most important thing in this world. When we are gone, life will continue without us. Make a difference. Invest in someone’s life. Learn from the things and the people around you. Most of all, love everyone.