The Nevada Sagebrush

When things go wrong, focus on positives to power through

Monday, November 9, 2009 - 7:46 PM

Hayley Rasmussen

Everyone has difficult days at work. It’s inevitable. If life were perfect, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate it fully. But what about those days when it seems nothing will go right?

You’re late, you don’t get breakfast, you make mistakes and aren’t given any room for fixing them. Last spring, I had one of those days.

I work as an ambulatory veterinary assistant. On this particular day, we had a full schedule of visits to houses full of horses to vaccinate in Rancho Haven. North Reno was snow-covered and beautiful, but freezing. My job was filling syringes with vaccines (three different types in the spring), getting dewormer for horses ready, taking any necessary notes, occasionally catching the horses, writing bills and making sure we got the money or bill to the client.

Spring vaccination clinics are tedious, but usually easy to get through.

This day, however, was different.

My alarm clock didn’t go off, my brother’s dog ate my breakfast and I was late. This was my fourth season of clinics since I’d landed my dream job, but I was making mistakes when I should have known better and I was slow when we were on a strict time schedule. My boss was sure to let me know. After being told to straighten up a bit because I was slacking, I felt annoyed. But I realized this was completely my fault and trudged on.

I wanted to admit defeat. However, I realized the inevitable happened and it was time to straighten up and put my game face on. This job is my life; it means just as much as school does to me. A few obstacles jumped out at me, but it was time to conquer them.

I learned from that difficult day, so if another comes along, I can face it head on and stay strong.

Just the other night at my second job — refereeing soccer — I felt completely defeated. After four hours of outdoor soccer in the cold with snow coming down on me as I reviewed sign-ups to make sure everyone had signed the papers correctly, I couldn’t feel my hands. I worked until 11 p.m., had an impossible physics exam at eight the next morning, and was emotionally strung out. I wanted to run inside and be done.

But I knew I need this job, and days like that will only come on rare occasion. I thought of that one bad day last spring and realized I cannot be defeated. I focused on the positives. This job is fun, I enjoy my coworkers and it keeps me with enough money to support my needs. The least I could do was work my hardest through the snow.

Things go wrong. Life and work will never be perfect. But when the going gets tough, you need to toughen up. In this economy if you have a job, hold on to it. If something is not exactly right, fix it. Work to the best of your ability, even if it’s just a normal pay-the-bills job. And if your alarm doesn’t go off and you don’t get breakfast, suck it up and call in to let your boss know you’re running late.

Hayley Rasmussen is a pre-veterinary major and rides big, pretty horses in her spare time. Reach her at perspectives@nevadasagebrush.com.