Patience
Shirts: submitted by Ken Johnston
I was at an event
recently where the speaker talked about patience. This is something we deal
with everyday inside and outside the workplace. Patience comes in many forms
and like the game face we put on at work, we also need to put on what we will
call a patience shirt.
The first
one we will call our light blue patience shirt. Light blue represents a serene
calming attitude. Blue skies and warm ocean water. When we are stuck at that
traffic light when we are in a hurry.
When that new server is asking questions when the dining room is at full
peak. All the little things that slow us
down when we are pushing forward. Think
of your blue patience shirt and it will help put things in perspective.
The second
shirt is a marathon patience shirt. In South Africa they run the Comrades ultra
marathon, arguably the most grueling marathon in the world. These runners don’t
run five miles, they run fifty three miles. They know that it is going to be
very painful and very long. This is the kind of a patience shirt we need to
wear when we have something that is going to test our patience for a very long
time. It could be an elderly family member who needs to be feed and bathed
after our long day at work. It could be
a special needs child who will forever need our care and patience. Remember the weight of those that have to wear
this shirt, it reminds us what a jerk we can be when we don’t have the patience
for that traffic light or that new server.
The third
shirt is our “NO MORE” shirt. This shirt is our call to action shirt. When we
can not sit by and be patient for change.
It could be something global like starving children or domestic
violence. It could be something like
volunteering within our community to help those less fortunate. Things that
demand action rather than patience.
So what
shirt are you wearing today? Maybe one or maybe all three. The message is wear
the right shirt for the right circumstance…. and to have a little more patience
at the traffic light and with that new server.
Ken Johnston
Director of Dining Services
Weinberg
Community for Senior Living