Producing it No Matter What

I went shopping and perused through a few furniture stores. Some very expense and some not so expensive. This quote made me think in the expensive store, the workmanship had noticeably declined, which made the furniture seem that much more expensive as the quality just wasn’t there. Strange how these quotes make me think in the oddest locations.

While driving home I thought about the times when my work was not up to snuff and how it reflected poorly on my character. I was young and thought I could skate by, it didn’t really work. Though my boss never pointed it out I knew I had not done my best work. It made me feel bad about myself. A few years later I heard a speaker talk about how we feel about ourselves…and they said, “Stop doing things that make you feel bad about yourself.” It was as if they had noticed my work habits and how my lack was making me feel bad. So I changed it.

Our work does reflect who we are, not just what we know or what we can produce. It tells the recipient that not only are they worthy of fabulous work, we are just the person to do it. It tells them WE care on all levels – willing to dig in, willing to try and fail, willing to keep going until we get it right. And most importantly we are willing to work until there are no excuses. Pride in our work, a strong work ethic, even hard work helps us build a foundation within ourselves that we can rely upon when tough times, tough projects, and tough problems head our way.

So what does your work say about you? Is it the message you truly want to send, or did you just do enough to get it done? In ten years when people interact with something you created, will you be proud that they know you did it? OR will you hope they have forgotten? Strong, solid, reliable work doesn’t take much more effort, it takes a commitment to ourselves and owning the work we produce…and producing it no matter what.