A Professional Approach

I was reading a homework assignment the other night where the writer talked about the difficulties of his job. How it could be extremely busy. How some tasks were difficult to deal with. How a positive mental attitude attitude 100% of the time is unrealistic. My comment back to him was this: "A true professional learns to take things in stride, especially the negative things. They learn not to show disappointment, discouragement, negativity or anger."

For years I've been a stock car racing fan (and at one time a participant). I've always been quick to "boo" the driver who can't handle racing situations in a professional way. For example, in the good-old-days before there were lots of rules (and yellow flags), it was not unheard of for a car to be stalled on the track while the race continued under the green flag. One evening, a few laps from the end of the "B" feature at Westboro Speedway, a car stalled up against the crash rail about a hundred feet from the starter's stand. Not a particularly good spot to be in, but the race was nearly over and no yellow or red flag came out. After one lap, every driver should have been aware of his position. Even if you forgot he was there, you could certainly spot him as you came off the turn. Virtually every driver adjusted track position to avoid him. Except for one.

One notorious hot head, someone who was always angry, ran right into the stalled car at speed. True to form, the hot head jumped out of his car and wanted to pick a fight "because the other driver was stalled on the track!" That hot head was not a Pro. A true Pro doesn't whine, complain or get angry. A true Pro knows that the way things happen in racing you can sometimes have a bad day. A true Pro takes it in stride.

The same is true with a Pro at work. A true Pro knows the kinds of situations that make a job difficult. A true Pro knows the way things happen at work can sometimes give you a bad day. A true Pro takes it in stride.

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