If We All Acted Like Professional Athletes...

I was watching some (American) football today (which doesn't happen often) and I realized I'm living my life all wrong. This came on a play when a wide receiver caught the ball and ran with it for a few yards and then got knocked out of bounds by a defender. The play resulted in a first down close to mid field. This kind of play is pretty common in football and nothing special. But I watched in awe as the receiver started beating his chest and jumping up and down very excitedly. This guy was celebrating like he did something amazing when really all he did was his job. And he didn't even do a spectacular job of it; just what was basically needed to make sure he's employable. So I got to thinking, I should live my life like that. In fact, we all should. Think about it...
Anytime you're at work (or school or anywhere really) and you do exactly what you were supposed to do, celebrate. And I mean you do so like it meant something! Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all acted like this? If not, I'll help you. Let's pretend you're flippin burgers for some fast food place and you took this philosophy to heart...
First, you get hired. Before you even put on the uniform and prove your worth, you're gonna have a press conference thanking everyone you can think of for this dream to come true. There's going to be one special person you thank (usually a parent) where you almost cry in front of everyone. And the final part of the speech is how you're gonna flip burgers for this place better than they've ever been flipped before. You're gonna lead this place to greatness.
Next comes training. You make it through like thousands before you, but nothing shows you're going to be that great really. Still, you make sure to say in an interview with "burger flippin monthly" that you're positive the manager noticed the great potential in you and is going to give you that dream 9-5 shift everyone wants.
Now it's a couple years later and while you didn't have that dream shift initially, a couple people quitting and a guy getting fired and now that dream spot is yours. You're on the big stage now, all the important customers are going to see your work in action. You make sure BFPN gets a soundbite of you saying how you're about to change the fast food business AND how much the best burger flipper in town is about to get shown how it's really done.
BAM! You just flipped your first full order of burgers! Just like they trained you to do. But you don't go straight to making the next order; you run up to the front of the store and to the drive-thru window dancing and telling how you "owned them burgers!" This is it buddy, the world knows how good you are now.
You think you're hot stuff for a good while, flippin burgers and developing new dances for each type of burger, when suddenly the manager comes to point out an undercooked burger a customer complained about. You've only got one thing you can do at this point - point fingers! That customer is crazy and that meat isn't undercooked. And if it is, it ain't your fault, it's Jim's, over on fries; he was distracting you while you were trying to flip those burgers. You make sure to release a statement for the press after work on how the fast food industry is setup against good burger flippers like you.
You've been flipping burgers for a good while now. You've have your ups and downs, but you know that you're still the best. Of course, the burger joint you work at hasn't won any awards, but that ain't your fault. It's the rest the place that's messed up. You make sure to tell the news all the time you're the only thing holding the place together.
Now the boss is mad cause he heard the negative things you were saying. You do what any reasonable burger flipper would do: Instead of trying to work things out, you start letting other fast food restaurants* you're looking for a new place to flip at, somewhere you think your talents would be better suited.
After a little bit you get that job elsewhere. Hold a press conference on how much of a better fit you know this place is going to be for you even though you've yet to step foot in their building or meet any of the other employees besides the management staff. That doesn't matter, you're the golden child and this will finally be your place.
Years later, same mistakes were made with the same results. You still blame everyone else and you swear you still got some good burger flipping in you, you just need the right place. None the less, you find yourself back on the crappy night shift. Maybe you find yourself able to get on a good shift with some local brand or maybe you spend a couple more years on night shift, but the end result is the same - retirement.
You hold a press conference to give a speech in which you'll thank a few people by name and the rest by generalization. Then you cry on TV, but thankfully not nearly as many people are watching as you like think there is. The next step is to file for bankruptcy since you didn't have the foresight to set some of that money aside and instead managed to spend it things you don't remember even wanting let alone buying. Maybe if you're lucky, you might get a job doing infomercials.

Well, I'd keep writing, but I have to go celebrate all I got down as it is. And you should celebrate for reading it all. Heck, you should celebrate if you skipped it all and just read this bottom part (it's still doing something). We should all start living our lives like those of professional athletes.
*I hesitate to use the word "restaurant(s)" for fast food, but constantly saying "places" was getting repetitive.