Photo Credit: Tambako the Jaguar via Compfight cc
My dad used to tell us this.
If mom was getting up from the dinner table (after preparing the meal we just enjoyed), and it was apparent dishes needed to be cleared, my father would quietly reach over, pinch the soft skin above your elbow, and mutter, “Go on. Make yourself useful.”
What he was communicating: Get off your butt and work.
When you heard those words the opportunity to act upon wasn’t always as obvious as dinner dishes waiting to be removed. Once, my brother was struggling as he hooked the trailer to the tractor. Make myself useful? I was finding it rather amusing watching my sibling struggle so.
That time the pinch on the arm left a small bruise.
Each day the ‘school of Dad’ was in session. From it, I learned to anticipate work, rather than waiting for it to be delegated. I still miss opportunities to make myself useful, though I believe I’ve seized many over the years – because of Dad.
Back then, I should have made myself useful by telling my father how his lessons served me. It’s too late to do so now. The best I can do is make myself useful by passing along his words.
How will you make yourself useful today?
All of us at Verus Global wish the fathers, in the U.S. and around the world, a grand day – and our gratitude for their lessons that have shaped our world.
