Doing Your Job

My wife is watching a documentary about the Tour de France, so I’m hearing second-hand a lively collection of stories.  Without much knowledge of cycling, I assumed the job of a cyclist consisted mostly of pedaling hard and pacing himself.   Ride the bicycle as fast as you can until you reach the finish line.

Not so.  It turns out there are all sorts of distractions and competing priorities for the riders to deal with.   The coaching staff is barking instructions in their ear through the radio.  Photographers and TV crews are zipping around in motorcycles to snag action shots.  Each team of cyclists is constantly evaluating and adjusting its strategy of who should lead and who should draft.   And it all happens in close quarters at high speeds, with other riders, fans and roadway obstacles only inches away.  Losing focus can mean a life-threatening crash. 

Through all these complexities, what makes a team successful is the willingness of each individual to put their head down and do their job.

We all have jobs.  You may not be a world-class cyclist, but chances are good there’s a team or family that are counting on you to do your part.

What good will come this week if you put your head down and do your job, extraordinarily well?