The other Saturday morning, I was changing the toner cartridge in my home inkjet printer, and I carelessly got a smear of ink on my finger.
I looked at my pointer with the long, black smudge, and was secretly pleased. I thought back over the years to the times I noticed inky stains on my hands. And why wouldn’t I be pleased? I’m a printer after all! Both of my parents were in the printing industry, as were an uncle, a cousin, and my paternal grandfather. Ink-stained hands are a badge of honor in my profession.
It’s great to feel good about the life’s work you have chosen, warts and all. Seeing that ink smear brought that all back to me, remembering so many occasions that I was able to get my hands dirty, helping to run jobs, box them up, create masterpieces for our many clients.
Do you ever just stop and think about your career, people you’ve helped, products you’ve created, moments you’ve felt proud? Is there a particular “trigger” that causes you to reminisce and wade into the good memories and feelings of satisfaction?
Go ahead, indulge now, wade on in and see how good it feels!
