Some of your best work will leave without you.

There’s a story behind that to upgrade your mental game today, specially dedicated to Aaron Havens.

This is upgrade #1234:

You may think work only counts if you get to see how it turns out. Upgraded thinking knows some work is finished the moment you let it go well.

This story is titled Tagging:

Redgranite Correctional Institution sits in central Wisconsin. In 2025, Recreation Leader Carrie Jahnke wanted something for the men there that wasn’t about sports. Something residents with mobility concerns could do too. She picked monarch butterflies. From June through September they clean and replace leaves, check eggs, check the caterpillars, and track data. This year they raised 100 larvae.

When a butterfly comes out of the chrysalis, nobody rushes it. It gets two or three days to build strength. Then a small tag goes on the wing. Then they let it go. The monarchs leaving Wisconsin at the end of summer are headed for the mountains of central Mexico. Roughly two thousand miles.

Nobody in this story sees the whole thing. The butterflies never send a postcard. None of them return to Wisconsin. The migration works anyway. And it matters. Monarchs carry pollen from flower to flower. Their caterpillars feed birds. Scientists watch them to learn how healthy a habitat is. The milkweed and flowers planted for monarchs feed bees and hummingbirds too. It’s all part of a grand ecosystem. The men witness a remarkable metamorphasis and an illustration of how a complete change is possible for them.

One of the men, Nathan Lecker, raised monarchs with his family when he was a kid. He said, “I enjoy being part of this program and being able to give back to the community. We can make a big impact from the inside.” I won’t pretend a butterfly makes the walls smaller inside the prison. Even though it doesn’t give them a pardon, they get to witness beautiful creatures enjoy their freedom.

Henri Nouwen wrote, “We belong to a generation that wants to see the results of our work.” Most of us want the landing. Most of us only get the launch. You’ll raise kids who grow up in places you’ll never go. You’ll train someone who shines for somebody else. You don’t have to see the landing to do the launch right. The better story to tell yourself is, “My job is to send it off strong.”

Tell me a story of work you never got to see finish to fromchadsmith@gmail.com. Send someone a text and ask them, “What’s something you poured yourself into that you never got to see finish?” You can get a free copy of my book, The Most Powerful Story in the World, by going to fromchad.gumroad.com. The transcript of this message and hundreds of others are always available at http://www.fromchad.com. Please like, comment, subscribe, or follow. Your engagement helps the algorithm and makes it easier for others to find these messages.