Forget Recognition, Always Do Your Best

Everyone enjoys receiving recognition or some sort of credit for doing a high quality job. It is so easy to get lazy and neglect the quality of some tasks, or not even do them at all when recognition is not given. We need to remember that it is important to go that extra mile, even when there is no one waiting at the finish line to congratulate us or pat us on the back.

I have always seen myself as two different people. No, I don’t have multiple personality disorder… “yes you do”… no I don’t! Shh. Anyway, one person is living out my life, making all the decisions and thinking all of the thoughts. The other person is hidden on the inside, deep inside, judging and watching my actions.

In that sense, I never feel alone. I never feel like I can get away with anything bad, immoral, cheap, or disrespectful. Not that I would want to, I am just saying that I can’t. That inner part of me is always watching my every move, making sure I am doing the best I can and guiding me to do the right thing. That other person sees what you do and appreciates it. That other person will always give you recognition.

I have learned a lot from my dad. Here is a story from my childhood about him.

Growing Up In Basalt, Colorado

When I was in grade school, I was always baffled by my dad. We lived in a small town in the Rocky Mountains with no more than 4,000 people. Downtown was a single street a few blocks long with stores on either side. There was not much more to it.

About one or two days out of the month, my dad would wake up incredibly early, fill up his wheel barrow with a shovel, broom, garbage bags, and other miscellaneous tools. He would walk from our house, to downtown, and then to the surrounding areas and clean up the entire town. He would pick up trash, sweep dirt, shovel gravel, you name it.

No one ever knew that it was him who cleaned the town. They would just be walking down the street one day and see that it was clean. He never received any credit. He never received any recognition. But yet, he kept on doing it every month.

Why would he do all this for no reward or credit? I thought it was such a waste of time. It made no sense to me as a kid. But now that I am older, I am seeing the importance of his actions. He did a great thing for the town, and they were appreciative of it, even though they never knew who did it. These are the kind of things I am talking about.

Encouragement From Me To You

Find a deed that you can do, whether people see it or not. It does not matter how big or how small. Do it at home, at your job, in nature, wherever you feel it is needed.

Just because you do a good deed and don’t get credit for it, it does not mean that people aren’t affected by your efforts. My dad affected the entire town in a positive way. That warm feeling you get from doing your best and helping others even when no is watching, should be reward enough. Be that silent hero! Walk away from that task calmly with a grin on your face, knowing you did your best. Make the world a better place, even if no one will ever know it was you.

Photo By preciouskhyatt

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