Two plumbers

It took me three weeks to get on a plumber’s schedule. When he arrived at my house, I said, “Wow. You guys are really busy.”

His reply was telltale and flat: “‘s because no one wants to do this kind of work.”

Implied, of course, was that he didn’t want to do it either.

I don’t blame him. Plumbing work can be foul, complicated, and physically demanding. But I couldn’t help considering the story this plumber tells himself: “I’m stuck doing a job no one else wants to do.”

Years ago, I knew another plumber whose attitude was quite different. Same jobs, same customers, but a different mindset. His was, “I’m an everyday hero. People have a problem, and I have the skill-set and mental toughness to fix it. Maybe not glamorous, but absolutely critical.”

I can’t speak for the happiness of either plumber, but one carried his tool bags as though they were twice as heavy.