Calling it even

"Come Friday, we're even," the man said. "That's how I look at my job."

This man had worked for years and years at his job, and though the hours were often long and the pay was not so good, he said he picked up his pay check each Friday and considered his account even.

Square. Paid in Full.

No matter how difficult the task may have been each week, in his mind, the check he received at the end of the week covered the debt. Each week, he marked the account paid in full and moved on.

Do you?

Or, do you, like me at times, look at your compensation for a job well done and complain that it isn't enough, complain that you aren't appreciated more, complain that the task was more than expected, complain that the glory doesn't equal the effort?

To make matters worse, each week we keep carrying that balance forward, adding a little more to the "what's owed us" column.

We will never be paid what we think we're worth. We can never be appreciated to the extent we think we should. Friends will never be as loving as we think they should. Traffic will never go as fast as we think it needs to.

Peace of mind can only come when we change what we think . . .

• When we get to the end of the week and mark it even.

• When we get to the end of the day and balance the books with our friends and family.

• When we realize that give and take sometimes means giving more and taking less.

And when you're okay with that, you're finally okay with everything.

There are two types of people — those who come into a room and say, ‘Well, here I am,’ and those who come into a room and say, ‘Ah, there you are.’ — Frederick Collins