Does it matter if you help a stranger? You will not see them again. Does it matter if you do a random job well? You might never encounter this client again. There are a lot of seemingly meaningless things that you might not care about.
So, why does it matter that you do them well?
A job, a small gesture of kindness, or any other thing you do for others or for yourself might not matter in the grand scheme of things. But it is still worth doing.
When you do good things for other people, it has several benefits. First, it allows you to feel good. We are prosocial creatures by nature. Our bodies and brains react with a burst of joy and satisfaction when we know we’ve done something good.
What’s more, these are actions that are good for our health. Being kind and helping others gives our physical health a boost, and it does wonders for your mental well-being too. Even if others don’t recognize your effort, you can still feel the benefits.
Doing good allows you to take pride in what you have chosen to achieve and accomplish. You don’t depend on other people to give you validation. You know what you did and that can be enough. This empowers you and allows you to feel proud with your work.
Thirdly, knowing you did things well makes it less likely that you leave problems behind. When we do a poor job of something we feel doesn’t matter, it can eventually come back to bite us. If you did things well, you can stay calm and know that nothing is looming over you.
Doing well things that might not be seen as important and paying attention to work quality, work ethic, and details can help you distinguish yourself from others and build a reputation that has quality, not just for show.
Even if others never find out or care, it doesn’t matter. It’s important that you do things for your own sake and commit to feeling proud of what you accomplish.
Maybe nobody will ever find out you left the work undone or incomplete or that you gave up or that you treated someone poorly because you thought they were unimportant. But you will know. You will always know and remember.
Remember to make things good when you work and interact with others. It will be worth it, even if it is just because of how good it will make you feel.“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
