Responsibility

My daughters wanted off work for spring break next week, and both were told they had to be at work Friday and Saturday of their week off from school. First thoughts are why should a minimum wage job, and barely part time at that, get in the way of a week together during their final year of high school? But this is where responsibility begins. If you can’t be counted on when the stakes are low you just might set a pattern that will hold you back further down the road. They both committed to weekend hours so they could take care of school work on weekdays, and now is the time to follow up on their agreement.

Responsibility increases as we grow older and more mature, at least that’s the best laid-out plan. It makes or breaks us. For their current job my daughters show up and have someone tell them what to do, but even at their age they’re picking up the fact that their ideas can make things better, albeit within a very narrow avenue outside of the strict rules set in front of them. That’s the first step to having a life that isn’t full of setbacks and failures that outweigh the successes.

We can’t stay at the starting post. Standing in the gate all the horses are equal, but that changes quickly. Sitting around and waiting to be told what to do will push you out the door before long. Make yourself valuable to your employer or customers and you’ll stand a much better chance of enduring slow times and staying employed. We aren’t supposed to stay where we begin. Be prepared for bigger failures when you step out, but also glow in the possibility of rich rewards that are a distant thought for many. And with something to dream about and actually seeing the possibilities….that makes life more palatable.