Job Security Secret:

“It’s a pebble . . . not a mountain.”

Employers look for this attitude, and do all they can to retain those with it.

A few months back, I learned that I need a surgery, one that would require only a single night in the hospital. Still, some nights I fretted about it, and about the recovery period, too.

A few days ago, I bumped into a friend who also needs a surgery, but his is for brain cancer.

I did not mention my needed surgery, because, quite candidly, all I could think about my own surgery was a simple sentence: “It’s a pebble . . . not a mountain.”

Since then, in different contexts, each person I have shared that phrase with has liked it, as they instantly understand it, and its message. I don’t know whether I had heard it said by someone else, or if I “invented” it, but regardless, it is very helpful. Now, whenever I find myself grumbling or fretting, just saying that little sentence picks me up, and places me back down, with a “gentle, healing hand.” It works great, too, in my work, when I get upset with others.

That saying evokes an image of contrasts: a pebble is tiny, a mountain is enormous. It puts things into perspective, and reminds me of the relative insignificance of the thing that just almost ruined my day.

I’ve also shared it liberally in my consultations and mentoring of clients. Many have shared with me that “It’s a pebble . . . not a mountain” has helped them at work, too. Hey, if it puts you on the “positive side” of your soul, it could save your job, your relations, perhaps even your reputation and career. And, most importantly, your health, too.

One of the young people I mentor has shared with me that, at work, what he calls “being Zen at the moment,” especially in difficult moments, has been praised by his boss, and by his employer’s Managing Partner, as well.

Many of my clients are senior executives. They have told me that they truly seek, appreciate and do all they can to retain employees with that perspective. People who do not get “bent out of joint” over “the little stuff.” Too many people make mountains out of mole hills, and, yes, mountains out of pebbles, too.

I offer “It’s a pebble . . . not a mountain” to you for your own use and advantage at work, at home, when away, and every other moment of your day.

There’s just one thing I’d like to receive, in return, from you: consider offering it to others, at work and at home, with family, friends and strangers. I think you will find, as I have, that everyone understands it, likes it, and appreciates it. I hope you will practice it, too.

It’s a source of the truest kind of job security, and a gesture of kindness, as well.

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