Respecting the Grind

As a child of a craftsman, I grew up engaged with power tools and machinery that was designed for a specific function in order to create something beautiful. I would watch my dad for hours as he used a variety of tools and toil for hours over the smallest of details and the outcome would be a work of art that would be used in a very utilitarian manner. I marveled at his patience and attention to detail as he worked and found it fascinating that even the most mundane tasks received the same amount of attention as everything else he did. Occasionally, he would need to stop and repair his tools so they didn't break down and then he would get right back to work. These up close and personal observations of my father taught me very early on the importance of what we commonly refer to as "the grind" of the job and how to deal with it.

Everyone experiences the grind at one point or another and our reactions to it vary widely. I am always amazed at those who are able to compartmentalize it and set very specific boundaries and expectations on how they deal with it in a manner that doesn't consume them. I have never been able to do this effectively because my mind is always racing and I struggle with putting something aside to be handled at another time. In my role, I strive to be a servant leader who is able to support those I am charged to lead and remove barriers so they can find success and fulfillment in what they do. In doing so, the grind can be consuming and take me away from other things that I might want to do. Complicating the matter worse is my own personal OCD on making sure that I cover things from all angles because I don't want to put forth a product, service, or idea that is incomplete or disjointed. While others may not struggle with this, this is the cross that I bear and I am continually seeking balance in my life to make sure that I taking care of myself so I can be of service to others.

Keeping this in mind, the grind is real for all of us and we all have an opportunity to make choices on how we are going to deal with it. Typically, the grind manifests itself in the form of stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed. This then leads us to a variety of behaviors that help us cope with these feelings. Some of these behaviors are helpful in reducing these feelings stress and anxiety while others may be more destructive. The key for all of us when we are experiencing the grind of what we do is to respect the fact that it is a natural part of all our jobs and understanding that our reaction to the grind can make or break the culture of our organization. Failure to acknowledge this can result in catastrophic outcomes including, but not limited to, disengagement, loss of hope, and irreparable damage to relationships with our colleagues. While we must respect the grind, we must not let it become our master. We must come to realize that while there are important things that must be accomplished, we don't need to do it all in one day. We must rest and take care of ourselves so we can be physically, emotionally, and spiritually available to those around us. While we do this, the grind will still be there, but we will be in a much better place to handle it.

The grind is real and the first step to working through it is understanding that everyone experiences it. We can push through it and run the risk of breaking down completely, or we can pause, make repairs, and then get back to work. One of these choices is clearly more sustainable than the other, but each of us needs to make that choice for ourselves. In the end, we all need to make an individual choice to embrace the grind for what it is so that we can produce the product that we imagine.