I do not have to work in this industry. I get to work in this industry.
There is a powerful shift in mindset that happens with a simple word choice. The environment doesn’t change—my early mornings don’t get any less early, my workday any shorter, or my groceries any cheaper. But my willingness to evolve expands exponentially. My desire to connect to something greater than myself leaves me beautifully and profoundly humbled, and my ability to see the possibilities opens.
I have been thinking about these words for a few weeks now, ever since our Chief Executive Officer, Robert Lambert, made a noticeable difference in my day. During one of our early morning check-ins for work, I told him how I had to cart both kids to daycare and back each day, and how it was squeezing the time I had available into a thin ribbon. He stopped me. You get to, he said.
What?
You get to take your kids to school.
I get to.
Then, recently, I attended the Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference in Carlsbad, California, and listened to some amazing women speak. Leaders like Walmart’s Carrie Mack, Sprouts Farmers Market’s Sonya Constable, and International Fresh Produce Association’s Cathy Burns herself. In one of the workshops, the presenter used similar phrasing to emphasize the power of the part we play in our own enlightenment…or demise.
Why do I write these words? Because, in moments of extreme stress, uncertainty, pressure, and strain, we succumb to the inevitability that emotion tries to claim for us. The walls get a little steeper, and the skyline duller. The fear drives a wedge in relationships at a time when we should be coming together.
Let’s not forget that we thrive because of our ability to meet in the middle of challenging issues and fortify the industry with collaborative solutions. In this high-stress, “needed it yesterday” industry, produce buyers and sellers get to work together and build relationships. How would it change the nature of how we came together if we more frequently and consistently approached each other this way?
So, while these small words do not fix or reconcile, they may give us a little room to breathe.
Today, I don’t have to write this Editor’s Letter.
I get to.
Because of you.
