That’s easy
“Every job looks easy when you’re not the one doing it.”
This was the advice Jeff Immelt gave to the new CEO taking over General Electric several years ago. Those words resonated with me, piercing my soul with their truthfulness. And then I had a few experiences in my real life that cemented how accurate Mr. Immelt was.
A few months ago, we went to get a quick dinner at Whataburger. The girl taking our order was slow. SOOO SLOW. She asked us to repeat our orders several times, pushed the wrong buttons, and even got help from another employee in the back. It took a long time, but we were the only ones inside the place, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. We sat at a table and waited for our food. With nothing else to do, I watched the girl slowly welcome people into Whataburger, then painstakingly take their orders. The line of customers grew longer and longer. Some people were patient, and others were not. Exasperated, several people turned around and walked out.
It was interesting to watch. I found myself vacillating between compassion for the girl and frustration at her inability to do such an easy job. How hard could it be to push buttons?!! It certainly looked like a simple gig to me.
I’ve thought about that girl a lot. I tried not to, but my mind kept circling back to that night in Whataburger. I’ve never worked in the fast food industry, so I don’t actually know the degree of difficulty. In all honesty, it seems to be easy. Easy enough that I could push the Easy Button from Staples, you know? A lot of jobs look easy to me—especially the ones I have never done.
For instance, I can remember looking forward to having kids and being a mom because that job would be SO easy. 😜 Clearly, that was before I became a mom.
On Monday, I was running errands, which included buying groceries for the week. As I was checking out, I noticed that there was no one bagging my food. Feeling extra capable, I decided to help out and bag my own groceries. (Just so you know—I have bagged my own groceries before. In college I shopped at Food-4-Less and baggers didn’t exist at that store.)
I was NOT expecting to have any issues. Bagging is easy.
Well, the employee checking me out was moving fast. The food was practically flying across the scanner. The first problem was that my bag of apples was stuck under the end of the conveyer belt. I pulled and yanked, but the plastic bag was not moving. Meanwhile, the rest of the food was coming at a breakneck speed. My roma tomatoes escaped their bag and rolled every which way, followed by large and unforgiving sweet potatoes. I started to panic. I ripped the apple bag as hard as I could, nearly swinging the whole bag into the side of my head. I ducked in time and began throwing things into bags. I couldn’t keep up. There was no organization. Produce was chucked with cereal, hand soap, and cans of black beans. Who cares! The conveyer belt sped up, I swear, and the groceries piled on top of each other right in front of me. I was flustered and embarrassed.
The checker looked at me with a sly smile and said,
“It’s harder than it looks, right?”
YES!!
Yes, it was so much harder than I thought it would be, especially when the checker was moving at the speed of light.
Every job looks easy when you’re not the one doing it.
The truth of this statement has weighed heavily on me. I don’t want to be a person who simply reads things, loves them for a moment, and moves on. I want to be changed, to become better than I was before. So in that vein, I’m working on three new things.
Judge less. We live in a time when our judgments of others are swift and absolute. There are SO many jobs I’ve never done and have no clue what it takes to do them, so I’m going to hold my tongue. And try not to scrunch up my face in disapproval, either—this one is harder for me. 😂
Have compassion. Even if I have done a job and think it is easy, it may not be easy for someone else. Some things come so naturally to me, and some things do not. I struggle in areas where others soar. Doing my best doesn’t necessarily mean doing it well. Sometimes my best is bad. As much as that hurts, it’s still ok. Compassion is a skill we need to practice, for ourselves and for everyone else.
Be grateful. Having gratitude fills my heart with love and appreciation and leaves less room for complaints and criticisms. Being grateful is also a skill, and I have to continually practice it.
Who’s with me?❤️❤️
