This is a story I tell my classes every year. It has to do with figuring out how to have fun working hard. Successful people enjoy what they do. The key is to learn how to bring a good attitude to hard work so that one can have fun in the midst of hard work. I do this by setting a goal. I can 'see' what I want to accomplish and imagine how I'll feel when that happens. This helps me through the difficulties along the way and past the excuses that would block the way.
Story time...
When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my mom asked me to rake the leaves in the back yard one Saturday morning. It was a crisp clear fall day and hadn't rain for several weeks, so the leaves were dry and crunchy. My older brother and sister were both gone that afternoon and I don't remember where.
I didn't think it was fair and I didn't want to do it. So I started coming up with all the excuses I could to get out of it. I told her it was cold, but she just told me to dress warm.
I told her my hands would get cold. She told me to put on gloves.
I told her that it wasn't fair for me to do it without my brother and sister. She told me that life wasn't fair.
I told her that there were a lot of leaves out there and that it was going to take a long time. She told me that I better get started then.
Finally, I told her that it wasn't going to be fun. Frustrated with my whining, she told me to go out there and make it fun. The tone in her voice told me that I'd better stop trying to get out of it and simply get to work.
Discouraged, I got dressed and went outside and began to slowly rake the leaves. I was working very slowly and feeling sorry for myself. I just thought my mom was so unfair because my brother and sister weren't even here to help and there were so my leaves. Yes, there was SO MANY LEAVES!
All of the sudden, I realized that there were a lot of leaves. They would make a huge pile when I got them all raked. They were really dry and crunchy. I could 'see' with my imagination the huge pile and I could imagine how much fun I'd have jumping in the pile once I was done. It was like something out of CHARLIE BROWN.
My victim attitude was gone. Now I wanted to get done so I could jump in the leaves. I quickly made a plan of where the pile would be in the back yard and what would be the fastest way to accomplish the task. I 'saw' the back yard like a giant checker board. I would stand in one place and rake the leaves to myself as I rotated in a circle. Then I would move to the next spot in the grid and repeat the raking motion.
Once each spot in the grid had been raked into a pile, I then started carrying each small pile to the BIG PILE. I chose a spot in the yard at the bottom of a little knoll. This would be the perfect spot because I could run and jump off the top of the knoll and get the most height to land in the pile of leaves.
I was working hard. I was working fast. I was working with a great attitude. I was focused on how much fun I was going to have jumping in the pile of leaves when I was done.
I have no idea how long it took me to finish the job. I was in the zone. When I was done, I had a big pile of dry and crunchy leaves. I put the rake down and backed up so that I could make a running flying leap onto the pile. I was going to make a belly flop landing the first time and I knew it wasn't even going to hurt because the pile was so high. I was going to jump several times onto the pile... and use a different style every time!
Just before I started to run, I looked up at the house, and my mom was standing there in front of the window staring out at me with a big smile on her face. I smiled and waved back and ran as fast as I could and leaped as high as I could and performed a perfect belly flop onto the leaves. It was awesome! It didn't hurt at all! I felt like Superman flying through the air.
I raked the leaves back up into as tall of a pile as I could and backed up and did it again. This time, I did a back flop. It was so much fun. I jumped on that pile of leaves several times. My mom even came outside and watched. After a while she called me over. She told me she was proud of me and I could see it in her face. I told her that it wasn't that hard of a job. Then she told me that she was proud that I did such a good job... but she was really proud that I had made it fun.
Then it hit me. My attitude had totally changed. It wasn't whining or complaining. I had fun working!
I tell my students to set goals and imagine what it will feel like when you accomplish them. Let these awesome feelings motivate you to have fun working hard.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Day 22
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