Today was a hard day. Just after concrete testing we had some down time before supposed rebar inspections in the frigid air outside. I decided to quickly sweep our concrete testing area, conveniently located in a parking garage just east of the construction site. After construction is completed, our portion of the parking garage will be used for premier hotel guests.

During this time my boss took a look at the sweeping and realized some excess concrete had built up next to the testing site, sticking to the garage floor. I was handed a metal scraper and told to simply separate the excess concrete from of the floor. So, I grabbed the scraper and banged it against the concrete, watching as a spec the size of a small chocolate chip flew through the air and landed a few feet away. Again, I rammed the scraper against the concrete with excessive force, only to watch as the mound remained in an unbreakable embrace with the floor. I was furious, and, after multiple further attempts, I realized this method wasn’t going to work. An eternity of using the scraper as a chisel, a bucket of sweat (and tears), some slight cursing, and most of the concrete had been removed.

Now, I didn’t tell myself to get over my self pity, and continued to curse at the damn ground for just being there. I could realistically have told myself that it would take time and to push through, but I simply became more flustered with each seemingly useless whack.

Needless to say, when you encounter difficulty, no matter how insurmountable it may seem, try to have a realistic perspective. Rather than giving up, say, “This is going to take a bit of time and will probably be hard, but I’ll get it done before long.” Then finish the job. No whining, no cursing or self pity, just get it done. Hopefully it will help the task get completed faster, and you won’t end up crying in a heap on the ground. Food for thought.