Reverb 10 Day 6: Make... people happy Dreamed 5096 days ago | | 448 words
December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)
You won’t find what I make hanging proudly on the wall or posted on the fridge. You won’t find it in a wood shop or cooling on the kitchen counter.
The last thing I made was people happy. I am not a maker. I do not craft, bake, build, construct or put together anything. The last thing I assembled was IKEA furniture. The last time I baked and did more than helped Annie or stirred or tended to something has been months. And while I love the Maker Culture, I am not a maker. I do not make.
But I do make people happy. I solve problems and that makes people happy.
I work in the exciting world of IT Support. When you call the help desk at work, I’m the guy who shows up at your desk to help you.
Lately I’ve had a series of baffling issues arise. One computer keeps disabling its Ethernet connection. Another that loves duplicating responses to meeting invites. Still another that hates printing in proper proportions.
The more complex or urgent the issue, the greater the happiness when I am able to resolve the issue and let them get back to work.
That is what I make. I make people happy. I break down the wall between man and machine. I keep computers behaving so they play nice with their humans. I keep everyone working. I keep people happy by keeping their computers happy.
It is a thankless, relentless job that changes as much as it repeats itself. Though trying to train and teach while correcting problems to help people help themselves is challenges and rewarding. There is no greater joy than seeing a huge smile and thank you when you get someone back up and running. You are their greatest hero, if only for the moment.
Getting paid in smiles on faces brightens my day. It helps keep the irritation of the monotony down as well as my stress level for those who insist their computer is causing all the problems. And yes, sometimes it is. However, the problem can be best classified as PEBKAC.
“Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.”
Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what’s happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 – and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you – you’ll have support on your journey.
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