Service with a Smile

“If you take action because you have to, there is no way you are going to do your best. Then it’s better not to do it.”
-Don Ruiz in The Four Agreements

Never invest in a Tinkerbell alarm clock.

This piece of wisdom will save your life. It will prevent you from supporting the Tinkerbell industry, which I think is ridiculous. Though she might be a cute little sassy fairy for most of the movie, she also has a lot of attitude that goes unnoticed and almost gets Peter Pan killed because of her egoism. And why is Peter merchandise so hard to find in Disney stores? All I ever see is Tinkerbell. Perhaps others are like me, and have always imagined flying away with Peter Pan – not Tinkerbell. She nevertheless hogs consumer's attention. Moreover, the advice will save you from interrupted sleep. The Tinkerbell on top of my alarm clock has mischievously deceived me in a very characteristic way. She decided to meddle with the components of my clock to alter the time while I was asleep so that it would wake me up a whole two hours earlier than I was supposed to wake up (I got up at 6:30 AM, got ready for my bike race and then realized the actual time). That is the only explanation that I can devise as to why my clock was suddenly two hours off this morning. Clever little inanimate bitch.

Recently, I have been struggling with an urge to quit my job. I waitress at a steakhouse in a golf resort that receives very little action during the winter months, which usually means that I go home miserable and broke. However, business has picked up again for spring and stricter management has thus ensued. Busting my butt all night for people who refuse to tip 20% lately has made me seriously consider becoming a hippie and cultivating my own crops to eat and sell for a living. I’m also not fond of criticism or confrontation.

When I waitress, I have this excruciating fear of making mistakes. College has taught me that if I am not careful I could be labeled as a perfectionist. This label does not interest me, as I would condemn this characteristic in anyone else. I understand that beauty often exists in imperfection. But I just don’t like to do things unless I can do them well.

Clearly, I was in need of a serious mental makeover on this one. I decided to reframe the way I thought about working in the restaurant, so I thought about it for what it’s worth instead of why it pisses me off. I acknowledged that work is where I earn the money to eat (a college diet of peanut butter & jelly and tuna fish sandwiches), where I establish new relationships with co-workers, where I practice my theater skills (a waitress is an actress), and where I can appreciate not sitting in a cubicle all day at another job (if I were sedentary for more than an hour my life-long caffeine intake might actually kill me). It’s easy to be depressed about the downfalls of working and to feel anxiety about pleasing others. But it’s a challenge to derive only positive aspects from the experience, and to actually look forward to taking orders and performing quality manual labor.

Seneca writes, “He who takes orders gladly escapes the bitterest part of slavery – doing what one does not want to do. Let us set our minds in order that we may desire whatever is demanded of us by circumstances, and we may reflect upon our end without sadness.”

I went in to work yesterday excited to take orders. I re-taught myself the entire menu to feel extra confident and decided to have fun with all my tables regardless of any errors that I might make. The attitude with which I approached doing my job made the night go by quickly and painlessly. I was glad to do my work well; I was happy to perform.

While I only made about six dollars an hour total, I didn’t take off several years of my life stressing about being perfect this time while doing it. I had fun with it, and my tables loved me. I felt accomplished. Don Ruiz reveals that you should never do more or less than your best and that doing your best is taking action because you love it — not because you expect a reward from it.

Doing our best is all that we can do. Love every action that you take, and it will give you more than you ever thought possible. Complainers suck.

Thank you Ruiz for the 20% tips.