“A customer is the most important visitor in our premises. He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work, he is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business, he is part of it.”
Mahatma Gandhi
We all love to be professionals and to have fulfilling careers as youth. The twinkle in our eyes as we go through arduous academic tasks is that we would soon leave the confines of school and be integrated into the workplace as doctors, lawyers, engineers, researchers etc. That is often the goal that motivates us to burn the midnight oil and to strive for mastery and academic excellence.
Although this is a worthwhile goal (absolutely worth the sacrifice), we often lose sight of the essence and significance of our career. There is a lot we stand to gain from our chosen career like prestige, a good income, and all the societal and professional privileges attached but at their core, our careers are nothing more than service rendered to fellow man.
At the heart of the evolution of careers is to meet the growing needs of man. When you have a problem with your piping system you know who to call…a plumber. When your car breaks down, you need a mechanic. When you are feeling sick, you need a health professional; and the list goes on. Imagine there were no pipes, who would even know who a plumber is or what he does? The word “plumber” would probably not exist in even our most advanced dictionaries.
It is often tempting to build empires out of our careers where we reign supreme as kings over our pitiable subjects. This is especially the case when our career sticks a lot of feathers in our caps. Suddenly, the people who afforded us the opportunity of relevance become more of a nuisance and a hindrance to our “profession”.
You could walk into an institution and find employees and even business owners who are downrightly rude and painfully arrogant. Like a lost dog, they stand with their tail raised and with much hoarseness of voice bark fiercely at those in need of their services.
While it is true that not all clients are easy-going and compliant, the good book gives us an excellent strategy for tolerating such individuals. Proverbs 15:1 tells us “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” When we encounter such clients our frequency of gentility should be raised; to the point that it accommodates their idiosyncrasies. Oftentimes, it is the most unfriendly clients that need help the most.
It is also important for us to be conscious of who we are. Who are you? It is easier to answer this question by noting what you are not. You are not your possessions (you just have them), and you are not your profession (it is what you do).
When we become too attached to our profession, we think that is our identity; “I’m an engineer”, “I’m a musician”, “I’m a lawyer”. In reality, you are not all these things. None of us are! They are capacities in which we function; services we provide to contribute to the overall furtherance of society.
We all have a role to play in making our world a better place. Thank God for the wonderful careers we have! Let’s take advantage of these careers to serve our hearts out. Remember, our careers should not be the reason for being high minded but a glorious opportunity for us to roll up our sleeves to do the needful.
