Where Was I - I Get It!

By Janice Lane Palko

With the coming holidays and the turning of the new year, I’ve already started to think about some resolutions for 2020. I mulled over the same old objectives: get in shape, spend less, pray more, etc. Recently, however, I think I’ve come across a key that may supersede all of those imperatives and prove to be more fruitful and more life-changing in the end.

Recently, I attended the Harvest Festival at the Block Northway. In addition to a fun afternoon spent with my granddaughters, I was given a buy-one-get-one pizza coupon for Blaze Pizza. As my husband had been traveling for work all week and was due to arrive home around dinner, I thought I’d cash in on that Blaze pizza offer before heading home.

As I expected, the place was crowded with all the doings going on at the mall, but the workers were hustling and serving customers as quickly as possible. When I got to the end of line where you wait for your pizza to come out of the oven, I couldn’t help but notice the young man plating the pizzas for those dining in and boxing those for takeout. He was doing his job with such joy, enthusiasm, and kindness, that it made me think. I go to a lot of stores and restaurants, and he was a standout among service employees.

What did he have that the others didn’t?

He was too busy to ask, but it was apparent that he had a different attitude toward his work. He had what I’ve come to call a “get-to” rather than an “I have to” attitude. Instead of becoming surly from the volume of work and “having to” wait on people, he flipped that and was working with gratitude and appreciation that he got to work.

Lately, I’ve made a concerted effort to change my “have to” attitude to an I “get to” one. Sometimes that’s not easy, but to boost my mood when I’m really not enthusiastic about doing something, I’ve decided to cite three positive things about an undesirable task to reinforce my attitude. For instance, I had to go to the doctors for a check-up. Instead of thinking I have to go to the doctors, I corrected myself and said I get to go to the doctors. I get to take care of myself. I get to enjoy excellent medical care. I get to ignore my cell phone for a while!

As I’ve been practicing the “get to” attitude, I’ve noticed I’ve become less irritated with the little daily annoyances we all must endure. So, this year instead of a list of resolutions, I’m going with one: turning my “have tos” into “get tos.” I’m so thankful that I get to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah & Happy New Year!

This originally appeared in the December 2019 edition of Northern Connection magazine.