When mean people make it hard to smile...
From hour 22 of my 30 hour shift...
I try. I try to be a good, nice, polite and positive person - especially at work. I really do. But, sometimes it becomes incredibly difficult, especially when you try to maintain positivity against many different uh... personalities, to say the least.
Like people who are snappy or rude for no reason even though you are dang near talking to them through a smile. Or, people who yell at you even though they're in the wrong. Or people who completely don't respect personal boundaries and bump into you without apologizing, or the ones who let the elevator doors close even though they can hear your heels clacking on the floor. Why, people? Is it REALLY that difficult to just be nice back to someone who hasn't done anything wrong to you (yet)?
Miss Co-worker: I was not that guy in the Civic who cut you off in traffic this morning. I did not burn your coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I did not steal the batteries out of your unreliable alarm clock. Scout's honor, it wasn't me.
That being said, I had my own obstacles to getting to work (on time) with a smile. The least you can do is not chop my head off the second I open my mouth -- pretty please.
I share this, one because I totally need to vent before I write off the entire human race as a bunch of ill-mannered heathens... and two, because it's such an important GAL philosophy to put out positive energy, but in reality it is something that we all have to battle to maintain. It's much easier said than done in a society that always wants to complain about something and always wants someone to blame or blow up on. Unfortunately, that steam is often blown on the person with the biggest smile and the cheeriest, "Good morning!" But, you have to stay positive. WE have to stay positive. No matter how much the negative people wanna break us down.
But -- at the same time, you don't have to be a wimp. Make people accountable for their actions and emotions. After being snubbed at work (or watching someone mumble under their breath at me), I am quick to say, "I'm sorry. You seem really pissed off. Did I say something to offend you? I wasn't trying to, I just wanted to .... " Or, I'll remind them that we're on the same team so there's no need to get upset. It makes people realize that their internal emotions are now external and they can't play passive-aggressive anymore. They have to either own up to their anger and we can put it behind us, or back down and realize (embarrassed) how unprofessional they were.
You may be saying to yourself, I don't even care that much about how he/she feels and maybe you don't. But you're trying to be positive and remove any tension in your immediate environment. No stress, no drama, no arguments brewing, no eye-cutting from across the office. Confront the issue head on, get it over with. And be POSITIVE.
If that doesn't work, make a sign out of construction paper that reads: "I am having a bad day too, so please don't take yours out on me." HMMM... where is my marker???
I try. I try to be a good, nice, polite and positive person - especially at work. I really do. But, sometimes it becomes incredibly difficult, especially when you try to maintain positivity against many different uh... personalities, to say the least.
Like people who are snappy or rude for no reason even though you are dang near talking to them through a smile. Or, people who yell at you even though they're in the wrong. Or people who completely don't respect personal boundaries and bump into you without apologizing, or the ones who let the elevator doors close even though they can hear your heels clacking on the floor. Why, people? Is it REALLY that difficult to just be nice back to someone who hasn't done anything wrong to you (yet)?
Miss Co-worker: I was not that guy in the Civic who cut you off in traffic this morning. I did not burn your coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I did not steal the batteries out of your unreliable alarm clock. Scout's honor, it wasn't me.
That being said, I had my own obstacles to getting to work (on time) with a smile. The least you can do is not chop my head off the second I open my mouth -- pretty please.
I share this, one because I totally need to vent before I write off the entire human race as a bunch of ill-mannered heathens... and two, because it's such an important GAL philosophy to put out positive energy, but in reality it is something that we all have to battle to maintain. It's much easier said than done in a society that always wants to complain about something and always wants someone to blame or blow up on. Unfortunately, that steam is often blown on the person with the biggest smile and the cheeriest, "Good morning!" But, you have to stay positive. WE have to stay positive. No matter how much the negative people wanna break us down.
But -- at the same time, you don't have to be a wimp. Make people accountable for their actions and emotions. After being snubbed at work (or watching someone mumble under their breath at me), I am quick to say, "I'm sorry. You seem really pissed off. Did I say something to offend you? I wasn't trying to, I just wanted to .... " Or, I'll remind them that we're on the same team so there's no need to get upset. It makes people realize that their internal emotions are now external and they can't play passive-aggressive anymore. They have to either own up to their anger and we can put it behind us, or back down and realize (embarrassed) how unprofessional they were.
You may be saying to yourself, I don't even care that much about how he/she feels and maybe you don't. But you're trying to be positive and remove any tension in your immediate environment. No stress, no drama, no arguments brewing, no eye-cutting from across the office. Confront the issue head on, get it over with. And be POSITIVE.
If that doesn't work, make a sign out of construction paper that reads: "I am having a bad day too, so please don't take yours out on me." HMMM... where is my marker???
posted by #1 GAL, Dr. Ty! at
4:10 AM
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