It All Matters
Posted by Michael Vacanti
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My grandpa is a badass 80 year old dude.
He served his country. He grinded odd jobs for income. And he worked 36 years as United States Post Office, including many years of night shifts.
And here he is chopping wood this summer (0:16):
During lunch yesterday, my grandpa was telling stories.
In 1991 he was in a terrible motorcycle accident. His head smashed against the back of a van. Had he not been wearing a helmet, he would have died on impact.
You know how many days of work he missed?
Zero.
Then there was the time my grandpa broke his leg, but instead of taking any sick days, he simply propped his leg up and sat down while working.
When he retired, my grandfather had accumulated one and a half years of sick pay.
Not because it paid out.
He did it because he works. That is what he does.
He shows up and he doesn’t complain.
Just like he has never once mentioned his arthritis, but instead, spent the whole day battling my cousin and I to move heavy furniture!
This attitude and this outlook on life isn’t just admirable, it is worth mirroring.
Not only for our own benefit, but because it is the right thing to do.
Each of those days of work mattered.
Just like every time you restrain from an emotional outburst, that matters.
And every time you lift someone up instead of putting them down, that matters.
It’s easy to lose sight of that, particularly when you can’t see the result immediately.
But this lunch painted the picture of what the outcome will be.
That the little decision to not take sick days for an entire career. To ignore pain and go move, and mow, and chop wood anyway. They make a huge difference in who you are, in your relationships, in your physical health, and in your happiness. It all matters.
Gavin
My dad is the same way...coming up on 80 and even now, works harder than me every single day. Many people say this type of work ethinc is gone but I'm going to be damn sure and try and istill some of this grind in my daughter. As the old adage goes, the confort zone is a nice place, but nothing grows there...November 4, 2016 at 2:39 pm |