At the beginning of this spring season, I was talking with a friend about a job he had interviewed for. To give you a quick background his education and experience is in ultrasounds, healthcare management, marketing, and healthcare operations management. This specific job was working with high-risk pregnancies at a maternal fetal medicine clinic. He was sharing how he could see the difference in his scans verses another technician’s. That comment really hit me. When I was pregnant with both my boys, I never gave my scans too much thought other than how amazing it was I was able to see my little miracles moving around and the detail in features some of the scans had as my babies grew. I knew there were standard, 3d, and 4d ultrasounds, but that was about it. It never crossed my mind that the scans could vary that much or that one technician could show a better angle, more clarity, or more detail. Which would make since as they are looking for heartbeats, measurements, estimated due dates, and suspected problems. It was a very humbling moment for me, and I have referenced it in conversation several times since then. I hope he always remembers to know his worth!
I have always said that everyone is in their job or a position for a reason. Whether it is a specialty, a position of leadership/authority, someone receives a promotion, or any other number of reasons someone might be working where they are. There is a reason they ended up, chose or were offered that position and I trusted in that. As a social worker there were so many fields and demographics I could work with. I always had a heart and passion working with older adults and eventually in Hospice. Hospice was not for everyone. You could tell which individuals in each discipline that were meant to work in Hospice and those who were not. You had to be able to separate work from home, you had to be able to set your emotions aside (for the most part), you had to be okay with seeing people die, with managing symptoms and not aggressive medical interventions, with do not resuscitate orders and with not calling 911. I often heard I do not know how you can do it. Which brings me back to, everyone is in their position for a reason.
Another dear friend of mine has recently decided to take a hobby she has a passion for and turn it into a small business. She creates beautiful one of a kind custom tumblers and water bottles. She uses double walled stainless-steel tumblers, high end paint, vinyl, glitter, and epoxy. She does two layers of epoxy for most of her products. This is a lengthy process due to the need for each step/layer to dry completely. There is also the design process involved, the vinyl decals she creates, the right colors her customers are looking for, etc. Sure, you can purchase/order water bottles anywhere. Sure, you can order these specific types of tumblers online or locally. Like the ultrasound scans, there is a difference in quality, detail, customer service, and the overall love behind it. Most people are not going to know the hard work put into each bottle and the amount of time one bottle takes. I think I might have to share her work and the process some time. Customers may base their decision on price or turnaround time not even taking a lot of these things into consideration. We have had several conversations about pricing. She did not want to price gouge, but she also did not want to undercharge knowing the hard work and quality products she was putting into each piece. She has a beautiful gift and needs to always remind herself to know her worth!
God has blessed each of us with talents, gifts, and skills. Some of us may not have discovered these yet or may not be aware that they are there. I have slowed down some and intentionally try to reflect and appreciate people’s roles and positions. I also look forward to asking more questions and learning from them!