Get To vs. Got To: A Change in Mindset

    Have you ever went to a fast food restaurant and the server treated you like you filled out their job application and are forcing them to work at that place against their free will? Isn't this the most depressing and upsetting thing ever? Doesn't this make you want to forget that you are a Christian and go smooth off? I know it makes me feel this way. I so dislike when people dislike what they do, then make others suffer for their descisions. We often find these attitudes in low income job markets. But this is a trend that needs to be changed and a gentleman that my husband and I encountered on getaway made me realize something that peeked my interest in this  area and sparked this blog posting.
     On yesterday my husband and I visited a fast food restaurant where the servers actually have to come outside in the seasonal elements to bring people their food. It was rather hot out but our server, an older looking gentleman, delivered our food to us with a smile on his face and a great attitude that caught my attention. As he walked away I turned my husband attention to his attitude. My husband didn't recognize it at first, but upon realizing it he stated that "Some people got to work and some people get to go to work". Where he could have been rude, ugly, nasty and sarcastic due to being out in the elements and working for what I'm assuming is minimum wage, he was none the sort and I believe that may be because of the way that he views his situation.
     Let me state that quote again from my husband...."Some people got to work and some people get to go to work". Your life is shaped by your attitude. All of us have some unfavorable situations that we go through to others. But whose standard and rules are we living by? We allow the world to label us as successful or unsuccessful by the jobs we have, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, the labels we wear, etc. Etc. But there are people who have all this stuff, and the means to get more of it, and are still unhappy. These things don't determine success nor happiness. What determines success and happiness to me is defined by me and yours is defined by you. Why? Because we all were given a different set of cards to play this card game of life by.
     Well what are you talking about, you ask. In this world we tend to put people into boxes and jobs are a big box variable. If a person works at McDonald's and are in their 30's, they are put in a box separate from a person in their 30's who is a doctor or a lawyer and they are unusually titled unsuccessful or a failure. But what makes them a failure if they are happy doing what they do? They enjoy getting up and going to their place of employment. Hey at least they have one right? Due to circumstances in their past, they weren't afforded the opportunity to go to college. They may have had to take up the slack and care for younger siblings due to a negligent or deceased parent. But their job at McDonald's is helping to put their siblings through college and get the degree that they never got...... So they can smile and be polite and courteous taking orders at that check out counter because they "get to do" what they are doing and not just "got to do" it. Often times we are so quick to judge before we know the whole story. But if we knew the whole story, we would understand the glory that they feel taking orders of people who look down on them for doing what they are doing.
     Your attitude and how you feel about you and what you're able to do should shape how successful or unsuccessful you are not other people's idea of it. In this world we have to be confident in who we are no matter what we do. There are people who wish they could get up and go to work, but they are bound to a bed having people wait on them hand and foot due to disabilities or tragedies that occurred in their past. We have to think positive and look at the brighter side of why we do what we do. There are people on this world that wish they could do what you do. I read the story about the parking lot attendant guy who works for $12 an hour but is worth $500,000...... that's half a million dollars! AND, on top of that, he's dyslexic. There are doctors, pro athlete's, actresses and actors that are broke as a joke constantly trying to hold up a facade living up to the world's standards. The job that you have shouldn't make or break you. We shouldn't let them define us or deem us as successful or unsuccessful. So tomorrow when you wake up, don't say "Man, I got to go to work". No, change that stinking thinking and say "Man, I get to go to work" and then make the best decisions for the income that you bring in. Work the income level that you have, don't let that income level work you.
     Success and happiness is defined by you and you alone. If you flip burgers, be a happy burger flipper. If you are a security guard, be a polite and courteous security guard. You and your job is just as important as the police officer, lawyer or doctor. Don't let small minded people deter you from believing that your job is important because it is.
Unapologetic is me, L.