Happy Labor Day!
It is interesting that we have an entire holiday built around something most people spend an awful lot of time trying to avoid talking about positively: work.
We look forward to the long weekend. We enjoy the day off. We celebrate having a break from work. Yet I think there is something worth remembering today about the work itself, because your work is responsible for an enormous amount of what becomes possible in your life.
Your work provides for you and your family. It gives you opportunities and choices. It allows you to develop skills, build confidence, contribute to something meaningful, and become better at things that once were difficult for you. Most importantly, especially in your practice, your work gives you the opportunity to make a difference for another human being.
That is worth celebrating.
I have said for years that one of the most important things any team can do is have fun together. I still believe that completely. However, having fun at work does not mean every moment is entertaining, every patient is easy, every day goes perfectly, or every responsibility is something you would choose to do if nobody needed you to do it.
It means you bring something positive to the work instead of waiting for the work to make you positive. That is a very important distinction.
There are people who walk into every day asking, consciously or unconsciously, “What is this day going to do to me?” They let the schedule decide their attitude. They let a difficult patient decide their mood. They let being busy decide whether they are stressed. They let another team member’s behavior determine how they are going to behave.
That gives away an incredible amount of control.
I would rather you walk into your practice asking, “What am I going to bring to this day?”
You can bring energy. You can bring enthusiasm. You can bring patience. You can bring a sense of humor. You can bring confidence to a patient who is nervous. You can bring encouragement to a team member who is struggling. You can bring focus when everybody else is getting distracted. You can bring calm when things become hectic.
You can bring the fun instead of waiting to find it.
That is leadership, whether you have a leadership title or not.
The best cultures are not created by putting inspirational words on a wall. They are created by the way people behave with each other when the schedule is full, somebody is running behind, a patient is frustrated, the phone keeps ringing, and there are ten things that need to happen at once.
That is when culture becomes real. It is also when you find out whether you are simply doing a job or whether you take pride in the way you do your job.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting the rewards that come from your work. You should want them. You should want to earn more, accomplish more, grow professionally, have more freedom, and create a great life for yourself.
Just remember that the rewards come because of the value you create first.
There is a patient walking into our practice tomorrow who needs somebody to care enough to help them make a good decision. There is a teammate who will have a better day because of the attitude you bring into the room. There is something you will do that may feel routine to you because you have done it hundreds of times, but it is not routine to the person receiving it.
That gives your work meaning.
So, on Labor Day, I want you to think differently about your labor.
- Ask yourself what you could do to enjoy your work more instead of waiting for your work to become more enjoyable.
- Ask yourself what kind of energy you bring into our practice when nobody is reminding you to bring it.
- Ask yourself whether the people working beside you have more fun, more confidence, and more positive energy because you are there.
- Think about our patients. What could you do this week to make their experience warmer, more personal, more enjoyable, and more memorable?
You do not need permission to do any of those things. You simply have to decide to do them.
That might be the best way possible to celebrate Labor Day, because the real celebration is not getting away from meaningful work. It is building a life in which you are proud of the person you are while doing it.
Happy Labor Day, my friends. Make your work matter, make the people around you better, and while you are at it, make sure you have some fun doing it.
