Get To – Have To

Hey team. Here we are. It is Wednesday again, and it’s the last Wednesday of the month. Fourth of July is just around the corner. I was reading a quote today, and it said today is a great day to focus on what we get to do instead of what we have to do. Life is a gift, not an obligation. I kind of like that, right? We have our obligations and things to do. We have to go to work; we have to do things. But imagine if you turned around your thought process.

I had this talk with my son the other day. It was raining, and school was just about out, so this was a couple of weeks ago. Jonathan was down; he’s like, “Oh, it’s good. You know, life is going to be horrible. We don’t get to go outside and play as much. I can’t go on all the equipment because it’s raining, it’s raining, it’s raining.” He was talking, and I told him, “Instead of focusing on the negatives, how about you focus on the positives? You get to go to school; you get to have fun with your friends. I’m sure there’s something you can do even if it’s indoors that can turn things around.”

At the end of the day, I asked him, “What was cool at school?” We have this little ritual that we do every time he gets in the car, him and his brother. I say, “Tell me one thing that was cool at school.” So we had that talk – one thing to focus on, just tell me one good thing. He said, “Today was great.” He told me all these things that happened that were great because he turned his mind away from focusing on the negative and turned it to focusing on the positive.

Some days we go to work, and we’re thinking about the obligation of having to show up and do the job, and be repetitive. It sucks up 40-plus hours of our week. We think of all that obligation instead of focusing on what we get to do. We might get to change somebody’s life today. And we might get to help somebody from making a mistake; we might get to cheer up a co-worker. We might get to involve ourselves in something bigger than us and our specific problem that we might be having. You’ll be surprised that when you invest your life into what you get to do and the positive things that you can do for others, some of the negatives in your life find themselves turning around.

Trust me, I’m actually preaching to myself right now. As I’m sitting here talking about it, there have been times that I’ve got down on myself, and I’ve looked at everything I’m doing as an obligation. I’m obligated to show up, I’m obligated to smile. I’m obligated to work, work, work at doing what I’m supposed to do.

And I’m not thinking about what I get to do. And that’s to cheer up my team, love on my team, do videos with my team, talk about the greatness that is happening within our company, the great people we have working so hard and so diligently, and doing so many great things. The great number of men and women that we’re bringing onto the team because we’re in a period of growth. Which is hard sometimes, which is hard every time you are growing. Growing pains are tough. Instead of being obligated, we get to help others. @e get to build one another up, and that’s an awesome thing. That gives me that feeling that I’m being valuable when I get to do something to help someone else.

So on this Wednesday Workshop. It’s a little deep for the last Wednesday of the month, but hey, God bless you, and be valuable because nothing less would do. I sure love you guys, thank you so much. I will see you next week. It will be the Fourth of July coming up. Well, actually, next Wednesday will be after the Fourth of July, but you get my point. See you guys later. Bye.