Whistle While You Work

My high school summers were spent working at good ol' Cherry Hill, a family friendly water park complete with a pirate ship. I worked as a lifeguard which was sometimes uncomfortable for me. You see, I'm not that big on confrontation and sometimes that's exactly what happens while on the job. For instance:

Let's say I am stationed at the swimming pool and some one starts to do flips into the water (aka breaking the rules). It is my job to tell them to stop. Most of the time they were compliant but it didn't always go over as well as I might have hoped. It was especially hard to ask someone to stop breaking the rules when the lifeguard before allowed them to do whatever they wanted. It was uncomfortable but it was my responsibility to keep them safe.

The same thing applies to every one of us. We often have responsibility to protect others from harm. When we, as a parent or leader, see something happening that shouldn't be, we need to blow the whistle immediately. The longer we wait the more damage is done. Although others may let it slide we need to stand up for what we know.