Satisfaction of a Job Well Done

I'm a rather recent fan of Dave Ramsey's money management radio show. Today he was talking with a veteran. The man had been injured in Afghanistan and was retired from the military. He was wondering whether he could exist on his social security and military money, or whether he should re-enter the work force. Of course, his wife wanted him to go back to work. Dave Ramsey acknowleged that not being a veteran, he didn't know much about how it feels to come home from an experience like that, but that he imagined that there was tremendous satisfaction and pride that come from doing a job well that mattered very much. His advice was to find something to do that mattered, and do it well so he could continue to have that feeling of satisfaction that comes from looking back over a day's work and a job well done. He said that this feeling would bless his relationships and his spirituality as well as his finances.

How does this apply to being a piano hero, you ask?

Well, all my life I've had to work hard. From a very early age (we're talking 4th grade) I had to earn money to pay for everything I owned: clothes, shoes, glasses, girls camp, hairspray, you name it, I paid for it. I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I feel resentment and self-pity that I wasn't born to parents who could provide better for me. But on the other hand, I proud that I did pretty well for myself, being such a little girl with such big demands. Now I'm an adult, with a husband who makes a good income, and he'd probably prefer that I was happy to stay home and clean house and bake cookies. But I think my childhood of hard work got me accustomed to the feeling of satisfaction of a job well done when I did something hard. Maybe that's the reason I feel the need to do these big projects all the time. Perhaps I crave that feeling of satisfaction. I've always wondered why I schedule myself so heavily, putting so many demands on myself, when I could just stay home and paint my toenails. It does feel good to meet a challenge. Perhaps some day I could develop that feeling of satisfaction that comes from cleaning house. I'm still waiting.