Attitude Reflects Life Experiences at Work and at Home

In an essay, "The Higher Consciousness of Fast Food Service," written by Gregory Sager he tells us about how he has turned his boring job into a personal achievement experience. Sager further, tells us how he has made creating a taco into an art form, rather than simply using "repetitive motions" to get the job completed and when finished he can be proud of each one. I, too, took pride in my work at a minimum wage job that most people would consider mundane.

For five years, I was a clerk at a video store and never earned more than minimum wage, but it was my strived for success and attitude that made this job an enjoyable place to be.

My job duties were the same thing, day in and day out with little change. For example, my daily duties consisted of helping customers, checking the movie return box, scanning the returned movies into the computer and stocking them back on the self and when it was really slow at the store, I turned to washing the movie shelves. I could have been like other employees who were just there for the dollar, but I wanted more from this experience and I had a very different attitude about this job and it showed.

In fact, my employer once asked me why I smiled so much and seemed so happy to be working for him. I told him that it's all about attitude and if you continually tell yourself how much you hate your job, then that is how it is perceived, not only by yourself but others as well. It becomes your reality. It is the attitude a person makes for themselves. For instance, if you wake up in the morning and think this is going to be a really bad day or its going to be a really good day then doesn't it usually turn out that way?

Personal attitudes play a major role in a person's life. For instance, I felt frantic one Saturday, as the store packed with customers, but it was only me working because another employee was ill. I felt stressed and thought how can I do this. This moment was my reality. I went to the back of the store, regrouped my thoughts, and turned around and announced that I apologized for the inconveniences, but I was the only employee and thanked them for their patience. At that moment, I saw how attitude directly influenced not only my own attitude but the customer as well, and it seemed more like I was the star of the show instead of the stressed out employee. Sager too, stated" stretched, at times, almost to our collective breaking point, we must join together and but put all efforts into the task at hand." I know that if my attitude had stayed stressed, the outcome would have been very different, and this further clarifies my point, that attitudes become a reality and not only affects you but it affects the people around you.

Furthermore, Sager stated "While any competent employee can keep the store functional, a truly great one can make it run like a finely tuned machine." Attitude plays a major role in a person's reality like Sager for instance, he tells of making a taco like a delicate piece of art work that he "can stand back and admire." Like Sager I too, made my mundane job something to be proud of.

Please feel free to read Gregory Sagers inspiring Essay at http://school.newsweek.com/myturn2002/sager.php?PHPSESSID=036bd2111c69fa57cae04f403f97799d