Love brings excellence

Have you ever stopped to think that the more you enjoy something the better you will do at it? For example Michael Jordan loves basketball. He would have to love the game to be willing to put in the incredible number of practice hours that he did. And Einstein loved physics. He would have to really enjoy it to work as a patent clerk in the daytime and work on his Theory of Relativity in the evening and during his free hours at work.

A husband who really enjoys his wife and children will be a better husband and father. He will not only be more loved by them, but he will love them more and be happier with the results of their lives.

We can take a look at two hypothetical employees, Bill and Tom. Bill has learned to love his job and continues to learn to love his wife more and more. Tom hates his job and does not get along well with his wife. His boss would tell you he has a bad attitude and doesn’t get along well with others.

Bill comes in to work about fifteen or twenty minutes early almost every day. He has plenty of time to go to the coffee machine and buy a steaming cup of black coffee, just the way he likes it. He goes to his desk and organizes his day so that he can control events instead of events controlling him. He is relaxed and ready for a brand new day.

Tom often comes in ten minutes late. He is in a rush every day and it stresses him out. When he arrives at his desk a coworker is already waiting for him with a question about a project he is working on. Tom doesn’t have time to relax with a cup of coffee and his day is already set – stress and frustration.

Bill likes his job. He is grateful for it. That does not mean he never faces problems or difficulties. But he has a good attitude and that helps him cope with anything that goes wrong.

A couple of years ago I did some studying on what American companies are looking for when they hire employees. I found that attitude is considered very important by most companies. In fact many large companies say they prefer a person with a good attitude over a person with more experience and skill.

The Apostle Paul told us to be overflowing with thankfulness. A person who is really thankful for what he has will enjoy life more and be more excellent in his relationships and his job. When Bill drives home from work he begins to look forward to seeing his wife and children. He enjoys them. He takes time every now and then to think about the benefits of being married to his wife and the joy of each of his children.

When Tom is driving home from work he is thinking critical thoughts about his wife and children. Probably the dinner will be late and he is very hungry. The kids will be naughty and noisy and he won’t be able to rest. He will probably lose his temper with either his wife or one of his children and then everyone in the family will be unhappy for awhile. They will sit down and eat together, but it will be very quiet and rather tense.

If dinner is late for Bill he eats a snack or lies down for awhile until he is rested and refreshed enough to face this new challenge. He enjoys the noise the children make because he knows they are having fun, and he enjoys seeing (or hearing) them have fun. If the dinner is late, it doesn’t matter, he knows his wife has been busy with many different tasks around the house all day and she won’t finish work until all the kids are in bed.

Psychologists and business experts tell us that positive reinforcement is more effective than negative. That means if we want to change other people’s behavior it is better to tell them what they are doing right instead of what they are doing wrong. Getting angry and shouting at people may change them for awhile, but it usually brings about more harm than good in the long run.

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think. 🙂