A Very Good Day

I don't think it's possible to find true happiness except through the love of Jesus.  But I received a true gift this afternoon that provided a happy moment.

I'm being purposefully vague in the details because I have to be.  My colleagues and I have been working hard to prepare for a great trial tomorrow, the culmination of weeks of labor that may very well determine the future fate of our organization.  Everyone is on edge.  My boss is stressed out.  I guess I was fortunate enough to be out of the office for much of the past month, so I wasn't feeling the stress of planning for this moment like my colleagues were.  My stress was compressed into just the past two days.

I prepared my staff for our portion of the presentation.  I know they are probably sick of me making them run through it to make it perfect (or as perfect as it can be), but we ran it and ran it today.  My boss scheduled a dry run this afternoon.  This meant our rehearsals were wet, damp, and sponge bath.

Anyway, when it came for the dry run, our part was fourth on the agenda.  My boss was not happy as we ran through the first part, and it got worse on the second and third.  When it was our turn, we did it just the way we rehearsed it.  And it was GREAT.  My boss was very happy.  She turned to our deputy and said, loud enough for the other teams to hear, "This is what happens when you REHEARSE!"  I was glowing inside, but only because I knew we had taken the right approach and knew our material.  So I'm fully confident in our ability to pull it off successfully for the real thing tomorrow.

But the real payoff came later.  One of my young employees, who has a rather big role in the presentation, and isn't accustomed to being thrown into the fire on such an important project, stopped by my office on his way out to head home for the day.  He thanked me for making him prepare.  He said it was amazing to see the other teams struggle so much and feel the wrath of our boss because they hadn't rehearsed.  He told me he appreciated the hard work I put him through to get it right.  And he received a big compliment from the boss for a job well done during our dry run.

This made my day.  I don't celebrate personal successes very often.  I don't like to brag about them.  I prefer to let others receive praise.  I hate the spotlight.  But this felt good.  I was happy that my boss was happy.  And I was happy because my employee was happy.  He absolutely deserved the praise he received because he has talent.  But I'm glad he stopped by.  Given the state of my mental health, it really made my day.

If someone does something for you and it has a favorable result, tell them.  It can really make a difference in their outlook.

Have a great evening, everyone!