Good.
That’s
what every single cleaning lady at the airport had marked on her report of the
cleanliness of the bathrooms.
There
were 5 options: Unacceptable. Okay. Good. Very Good. Exceptional.
Every
single one on the Sunday I used the bathroom had chosen to mark “good” as the
assessment of their work. Now “good” obviously isn’t bad but it’s not
exceptional either. It struck me how not even one of the cleaning ladies had
tried to excel or push themselves to not just be average. I figure that “good” is what they need to do to keep their jobs.
Exceptional is what they need to be to change their lives. Maybe nothing
would change but I think if you aim to be exceptional and manage people will
start to take notice and your life will change.
I
looked around the bathroom that day and wondered what it would have taken to
move that bathroom from good to exceptional. To be honest, not a lot, just a
little bit of pride in their work, elbow grease and desire. It struck me that
so often in life we settle for “good” instead of striving to be exceptional. It
made me stop and think: ‘where am I okay
with being “good” and does it mean I’m missing out on something better because
I’ve settled?’
Former
South African president, Nelson Mandela, once said: "There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for
a life that is less than what you are capable of living." How I wish
the bathroom attendants would hear this and aspire to be more than “good”.
I
told my husband my thoughts and he told me the attendant in the mens bathroom
was exceptional. He greeted, the bathrooms were immaculate and he got a tip
from my husband because of it (and my husband said we should hire him if we
ever start a company). Perhaps in some small way that goes to prove that being
good, settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living,
doesn’t get you as far as being exceptional.
