Choices! What will it be? #73

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I feel very pleased to make an entry once again into this week's contest on choices. I must commend @patjewell for this beautiful initiative aimed at communicating our choice among several choices and options. In this week's list, I would like to choose "Thumbs". You will get to know the reason before you read to the end...smiles

You might never know how important and significant a thumb is until it's used in an unusual manner, the thumb is one of the most important part of the arm, and hold a remarkable position among the fingers... interestingly it can be used to communicate a very clear message of accomplishment or a job well done...even without being verbal.

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How best can I explain this than telling you the story of Mark, a young man who seem not to have done anything impressive in the sight of his boss since he started working with him for the past 6 months. He has been putting in his best but it seems it's never enough.

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Obviously, the boss expects so much from this young man who is also trying to get everything just right but have failed woefully based on the standard his boss has set for him. Everyday seem to turn out the same way with low productivity according to his boss standard.

freepik

Standard are good and awesome until you try to meet up with them. This was actually Mark's ordeal. He sought to level up by engaging material and seeking knowledge everywhere he could find just so that he can end up pleasing his boss.

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As the day went by, his boss kept feeling dissatisfied and unimpressed with his activity but never thought of sending him away, he was just hoping that one day he would level up but you know, it didn't stop him from expressing how unimpressed and displeased he was with Marks activities.

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He would use body language to communicate this because he didn't want to appear mean and harsh and there are other times he spill his feelings with seeming harsh words which end up leaving mark demotivated and weary at the same time. It's been a hard time for Mark who wanted to learn his boss' craft and equally serve him in the process.

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Mark cannot actually remember the first or last time he heard his boss commend any of the obvious good stuffs he did around the work environment...I mean obvious things but equally obscure because it wasn't acknowledged nor commended. This made Mark even more frustrated and tired.

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All he wanted is a day when he would be looked into they eye by his boss and just hear a well-done coupled with few words of commendation...something he hoped he should have been getting randomly or periodically from his boss since the past 6 months he has been with him doing what he calls his best.

freepik

The reality was that what he didn't do well around the work environment has swallowed up everything he did well. How was he going remedy all of these, he thought everyday. Leaving abruptly is not the best option, it a sign of irresponsibility and cowardice. So he maintained.

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One faithful day, his boss had two important things to fix that would require a lot of running around and physical strength. His boss had to call in to ask that he helps fix those things which includes fixing some of the machinery he personally uses. As usual he thought within himself that Mark would not deliver like always.

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If he fails at some little task, why would he succeed with big tasks as this, his boss wasn't even sure why he is saddling him with such emergency task whose success would mean a lot to him but then he decided to commit it to his hands maybe because Mark was his last resort.

freepik

Mark knew how important this task was and decided to give it more than his best. He really didn't want any excuse to crop in no matter how genuine they are. He just knew he had to prove himself this time and gain his boss' confidence and maybe he could get a well-done for the first time in a long while.

In not time Mark had taken up the task that seem a little beyond his capacity...he took the bull by the horn, expended his strength and all he's got and then it was finally done after several hours. Obviously that task alone took the whole day. He smiled at his accomplishment.

He broke the good new to his boss about how he has successfully carried out the task. He boss as usual had to do a thorough check to ensure that all is perfectly done and then for the first time in months, his boss gave him a thumbs-up👍. Which show how satisfied he was with the accomplished task.

For the first time Mark felt accomplished and fulfilled having served this his boss for months. Adding any word of commendation to that action would actually be an icing on the cake for Mark.The thumbs up was all he needed to be motivated, to feel important and change the sad countenance he had put on for months.

freepik

The Thumbs-up was everything. It changed everything about Mark including is work ethics and he greatly improved over time even as he leveled up even more to meet the standard set by his boss. That's the power of the thumb we have at our disposal but sometimes fail to use when there is a need to. I hope we learn from the story of Mark...and his boss.

Thanks for your time guys! And just before I drop my pen, I would love to invite @m-fdo and @rakiya to this awesome contest. I hope they find it pretty interesting.

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Regards
@lhorgic❤️

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