Work - Ya Like It or Ya Don't

Our main character in The River Why is doing his own research to settle a family feud - this research is on Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler. Besides figuring out that deciding whether his mother or father is right about the content of the book is a useless fight, our character decides that he will take away from the book that "a truly compleat angler ought to angle more completely."

Last Friday I left work feeling a little overwhelmed and anxious. For the past year I have tried to not be that person, but I am in a career that makes this nearly impossible (add in my personality and you have as useless of a battle as our character is fighting). But yesterday it hit me. Do I want to do this job and do I want to be the best person for this career or not? Do I want to show everyone that I can turn this stress into productive work or do I want to complain that it's a little stressful? Do I want to do this work or do I not?

I do. I want to be a complete angler for this work. I don't want to come to work and just kinda do my job. And I don't want to do a different job. So to me, there are a couple of options and once you decide on one, move on it.

I think you can decide to like your work and do your work completely. Or I think you can not like your work and find a new job - and then do that job completely. When I look at it this way it's so easy. I want to be here. I want to do this work. And I want to do this work completely. It's exhausting not to.

A few weeks ago I listened to a sermon about working hard in our careers. The pastor asked what we would all work like if we recognized that God is paying us to be here. It's God's money after all. You see, it's not quite fair to come to work and not work hard. God has blessed you with your career, your work ethic, and your salary. When I think of it like this, there's no way I feel right not working my hardest each day, there's no way to not work completely.

So today I hope if you are a Complete Teacher that you are teaching completely. And if you are a Complete Editor you are editing completely. And if you are a Complete Caregiver you are caring completely. If you are a Complete Student you are studying completely. I think that we could all try a little bit harder to do whatever it is that we are doing more completely.