There are three words that will always put a smile on my face. If I am selling, I love it when my customer says,
“Let’s Do It!”
When I am purchasing and bidding on a product, I love it when the vendor says “Let’s Do It!” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard a coworker say “Let’s Do It!” in my fourteen years of working here. Whenever someone says that phrase what they are really saying is they are optimistic that things will work out. Optimism is a key attribute that we value at JD Food. Optimism is the fuel that keeps us moving forward. But, can I tell you a secret? I don’t believe optimism is anyone’s natural disposition. I don’t believe optimism comes easy. In fact, I think being optimistic is a choice. Our circumstances are often challenging. We face challenges every day that include late trucks, product shortages, high prices, frustrated and overwhelmed customers, and much more. All of these challenges paired with unprecedented events in the world can be overwhelming for all of us. Sometimes it seems foolish to be optimistic when faced with so many challenges. But there is another side of the story that is often easy to overlook. A “Let’s Do It!” attitude gets things done that seem impossible when we are staring at the face of a challenge, especially when we are looking at that challenge alone.
I remember the first time I ran a Half Marathon, before the race started, I had my doubts that it could be done. I definitely felt overwhelmed at about mile 7 knowing I still had 6 miles to go! But I also took inspiration that I trained with other people and that there were hundreds of other people running the same race. If I wasn’t feeling optimistic, I could at least tap into their optimism and finish the race.
That’s the thing about optimism, it is often contagious.
I did end up finishing that first race, and every subsequent race has been easier. I think we can apply that same principle at work. If you have been here for any amount of time you know that we have tackled some big challenges, and we have succeeded in doing so. We have maximized our facilities, we have taken on new customers, we have said “yes” when a lot of people would have said no, and every time we did we had the confidence and optimism, that the next time we were facing a challenge we could do the same thing. All of us feel overwhelmed at times. That is completely natural. One of the things I am most thankful for in working at this company is I am surrounded by people that want to help make things better. When I am not feeling optimistic, I can tap into their optimism and together we can work to figure it out. So, thank you for being optimistic. I love working at a company that is characterized by so many people who have made that choice. Let’s (continue to) Do It!