Good Job

I don’t watch much TV.  Part of that is being too busy juggling three kids, a freelance business, a house, and volunteer work.  Part of that is never being able to find the remote…  but that’s another story.  Mostly though, it’s because I don’t “get” the kinds of shows that are popular today.  I don’t find any joy in watching someone hear they’re not good enough, or in telling someone they’re fired.  Seems to me it’s all about power, it’s all about schadenfreude.  I call it the “You’re Off The Island” mentality.  Call me crazy, but there are enough disappointments in real life.  I don’t need to reinforce that emotion in my few fleeting moments of down-time. 

A few weeks ago, I was at the neighborhood playground with my kids.  My son, who’s three, was fascinated by an agile ten year old on the rock wall.  As the girl climbed up and over the seven-foot wall, he just stood there and stared.  While the other kids ran and played all around him, he waited, not moving a muscle, until the girl finished her climb and hopped down.  Then he ran over to this girl that he’d never met before, stepped into her line of sight, and said, “Good job!”  They both smiled, and the moment was over. 

But it stuck with me.

Good job.  Two simple words.  Yet what power they have to make someone feel special, appreciated, and noticed.  Worlds away from “You’re Off The Island,” this simple act of taking the time to see the good in someone, and then actually say something to them, is inspiring.  Inspiring for the person being complimented, because they know someone else noticed.  And inspiring for the person noticing, because it motivates them to do something bigger and better as well.

If you think about it, there are plenty of people in our own community who quietly go about doing good, whether it’s as simple as a toddler complimenting a bigger kid at the park or a friend who offers to drive you to your 5am surgery… or as complex as a school that comes together for a cause they believe in or a grieving mother who channels her sorrow into a major philanthropic endeavor.  There are so many stories out there that have the power to uplift us and inspire us.  I don't know about you, but that’s what I want to focus on.

So, together with my friend Linda, I created this blog.  I’m not really sure where it might lead, or even if anyone will read it.  But if just one person takes something I’ve said and it makes them think, if they take one idea and run with it, or if they read about one good deed and pass it forward, then I’ve done my job. 

And that’s so much better than “you’re fired,”  don’t you think?

until next time... Colleen