At least once in our working lives, most of us will know what it’s like to be stuck in a job we loathe. And if that’s where you are right now, you probably wake up every morning wondering why you bother to put in so much effort for people who make your life miserable, who don’t pay half what you’re worth, or who can’t tell the difference between good work and crappy work anyway.

When you feel like that, just think about Mrs. Staples.

The lucky belt

You may have heard of her son, Elgin, a Signalman 3rd class serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He told his dramatic story in Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul. Elgin was stationed on the USS Astoria in 1942. During a battle with a Japanese flagship, one of Astoria’s gun turrets was blown apart and Elgin was swept overboard with shrapnel wounds in his shoulder and leg. Fortunately, he was wearing a life belt—manufactured at the Firestone plant in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

After four hours in the water, Elgin was picked up by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria. But despite the best efforts of the crew, a short time later the badly damaged ship began to roll and Elgin was again forced into the water—still wearing the same life belt. Once again he was picked up by a passing ship and transported to safety.

Elgin held on to his lucky life belt as he recuperated from his wounds. And he took the belt with him when he headed home to Akron for a well-deserved leave.

As Elgin and his mom sat in their kitchen, he recounted the story of the battle, the shrapnel wounds, the long hours in shark-infested waters—and the belt that had saved his life. Then his mother shared that she’d been doing her part for the war effort. She’d taken a job as an inspector at the local Firestone plant. Excited, Elgin reached in his duffle bag and pulled out his lucky belt to show her. As she examined it, she spotted the inspector’s number.

It was hers.

Who’s gonna know?

In the 1940s, a lot of women took factory jobs to keep the country going and to keep food on the table while the men served in the armed forces. The hours were long, the work was hard, and there were no laws to ensure equal treatment or anything approaching equal pay for doing the same jobs the men had done before marching off to war.

Surely there were days when Mrs. Staples didn’t feel like doing her best work. Surely there were times when she was annoyed with her supervisor or distracted by issues at home—or fretting about her son fighting in the war half a world away. And on those days, she might have thought, “What difference will it make if I slack off a little? Who’s gonna know? Who’s gonna care?”

Mrs. Staples could never have imagined hers would be the last set of eyes and the last pair of hands that would examine the one piece of equipment that would see her son through his ordeal. Because she did her job well, her son made it home alive.

Most of us never know the impact our individual efforts will have on the end users. So if you’re stuck in a job you hate, instead of focusing on the things that make you miserable, think about the unseen people who may be depending on you. Maybe that will help you carry on—until you can find something better.