“All those who need showers, take them.”
– John McKay, then coach at USC, after his team lost 51-0 to Notre Dame
How often do we break a sweat?
Yes, technology is supposed to make our lives / jobs easier. Yes, we’re supposed to be smarter than we were yesterday. Yes, we have more information available to us than ever before and it’s just a quick shout to Siri away.
But, how often do we break a sweat?
As sick as it sounds, one of my favorite jobs — ever — was baling hay on the farm back in Iowa. Hot, hard, dirty work, that’s what it was. But there was this incredible sense of satisfaction at the end of the day, seeing the field picked clean, the fresh, green bales stacked in the barn and breathing in that sweet aroma of alfalfa that would sustain the herd through the winter. At the end of the day, through all the sweat, we’d got — something — done.
At the end of the day, I could barely lift my arms or move my legs. In every aspect of the word, I was tired.
It was a good tired.
Today, if we’re tired at the end of the day, it seems like too often it’s because we were working against ourselves, or running in circles. Too often it’s because we were in back-to-back-to-back meetings that had no agenda or desired outcome. Too often it’s because we’re reacting instead of responding — instead of taking meaningful action.
What if we picked two items from our “to-do” list — three tops — and broke a sweat over them and got — them — done.
That would be a good tired. That would make a difference.
John K says
Ahhh – Steve. You brought back memories for me too! On summer days, I very often think back to my hay-baling days. My dad always seemed to be able to pick out the hottest, muggiest days of the summer for baling hay. Standing on the hay wagon – breathing the hot exhaust from the tractor – gasping for air.
Isn’t it funny, that we remember those days where we extend our efforts? Effort, exertion and accomplishment. Life lessons we learned a long time ago, eh? Effort is a byproduct of attitude I think. I try to remember that when I’m feeling too tired to spend a couple of minutes with my kids. The easiest thing for my to change is my attitude. When I do that – I’m always rewarded! 🙂