I'm a Professional

Things can be all over the place in my head.  Something may make sense, but there are a lot of somethings.
I feel a bit that way this morning.  There are a few things I have heard that I have really liked.  They were all said by one person at one time, but I am having trouble piecing them together in my head.  So I have decided not to try to even piece them together.
One thing said was “be a professional.”  He was saying whatever I have committed to do, do it well.  Like someone who has got a job at a burger joint.  Turn up on time even if I feel like it or not.  Wear a smile.  Be polite.  Do a full day’s work and then clock off.
I like that.  I can tend to see one thing as more highly esteemed than another.  Maybe one job has greater influence than another, but in my mind all jobs are equally important to the person doing the job.  The object of any job is to do it well and fulfil the purpose of it.
What in my mind was a great illustration was given.  In Roman times bridge builders were not given any complicated contract to sign.  There was one test.  When the bridge was completed the builder and family would be required to sleep under the bridge for the first week while all the traffic went over it.
I do like that test.  Sometimes self-interest trumps public interest.  Too often these days I see someone who is willing to just take the money and run.  The implications of the work does not matter to them.  Others may suffer but they have what they want.
Yet the test given means do it right or the bridge builder suffers.  To me that puts a whole different spin on things.  I take greater care when the results impact me.
I must confess that is how I often assess take away meals.  When given something I have paid for I ask myself if what is given to me is something the person giving it would want for themselves.  When the answer is no, it is like one strike as far as I am concerned.
I do hold that everyone needs a second chance.  So my assessment is not based on a one-time experience.  Perhaps they were having a really bad day.  Maybe they got some bad news and were distracted.  But when something happens a couple of times in a row, I tend to avoid that place in future.  Slackness to me is an attitude.
I guess that is one of the reasons I like the thought of “be a professional.”  Being that way even in what is seemingly the most mundane task means I am not habitually negatively impacted.  Even when life dishes out to me undesirable things, the job I am assigned is not continuously adversely affected.
After all I am a professional.