a servant mentality

On public radio this morning there was an interview with Dr. Connie Mariano.  Dr. Mariano was White House physician to three presidents; George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. Bush.  When asked how one stays grounded doing this seemingly high profile job, she replied,

"one of the biggest piece of advice, it was given to me by my predecessor is, the best way to survive this job is to approach this with a servant mentality. You're behind the scenes. You're the potted plant, so to speak, you're invisible. And that's probably the best way to look at it."

It's the phrase, "servant mentality" that caught my attention.   So what's that about?  Within the context of the interview, this kind of mentality meant meeting the needs of others even when it involved a sizeable measure of self sacrifice.  It was about continuing to do the job to the best of one's ability when no one else seemed to notice.  It was about humility even though she held in her hands the life of the most powerful man in the western world.  For Dr. Mariano, being the servant meant paying attention to the details and to the process but trusting the ultimate outcome to someone else. 

I wonder how much less complicated, and more successful, our lives might be if we decided to approach our occupations and our family relationships with a servant mentality.  Being the potted plant, being invisible, would have to be, at the least, well . . . interesting!