Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!
It is said that one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. So let’s get to it! Here’s the quote:
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
— Helen Keller
That’s the thing about great and noble tasks – nobody walks around doing them all the time. Even St. Francis of Assissi sometimes had to take the garbage out. Even Beyonce sometimes changes diapers. Even Pope Francis has to brush his teeth. Even Abraham Lincoln sometimes did his taxes. (and yes, that’s my list of great and noble people. deal with it.)
People who are, or who become, great and noble do so by expecting excellence of themselves all the time. And that can be hard to do. I’ll give you an example.
I was shoveling mulch this weekend at my house. And since it was for my own home, and something I do only once per year, and I will be able to see the results out in front of me for months, I had really good focus. It was immensely satisfying, probably more so on a minute-by-minute (or shovelful-by-shovelful) basis than some of the workaday tasks I perform at the office every week. It was easy to take pride in; I wanted to make it great (and noble).
So that’s the trick, and that is the challenge identified in the quote above. Think of the things you take the most pride in, the things you believe are great and noble. Then take the attitude you use with those tasks, and transfer it to your work everyday, even if the results aren’t immediately apparent or gratifying.
Take out the garbage like you are caring for God’s creatures. Change a diaper like you are putting on a Grammy-worthy performance. Brush your teeth like you are blessing the whole Church. Do your taxes like you are winning a war. Practice law like you are shoveling mulch.
Actually, I kind of like that last one. I might put it on my desk. Find your own comparison, and put it right here, and use it to accomplish a great and noble task.
And have a great (and noble) week everybody.