Yesterday started out great. Or at least I was great. Happy, happy, happy! High as a kite. On life, of course. And it seemed that life was throwing every curveball it could find in an attempt to bring me down.
The last straw- which put me in a pretty foul mood for a couple hours- was when my neighbours/colleagues called to have a meeting about the night's Adult English Class. Generally, I'm all for spontaneity. But some things, if done spontaneously are more stress than they're worth. Knowing this, I told them on Monday what my plan was. I thought we were sorted. Apparently they didn't. On top of all that, when I told them I couldn't come right now because I was doing a workout, one of them had the gall to scoff!
As I said it really pissed me off. Just about every terminal hereditary disease runs in my family. There are 2 or 3 types of cancer that could off me before 40, and another that could get me by 50. At 28, I'm a year older (I think) than when my mother developed hypertension and not too far off when my father got diabetes. So my workouts are important to me. I'm not giving the Grim Reaper any ammunition.
I was angry, yet again, that someone couldn't see my side. You know this bugs me. I mean how many times have I posted about it?
This morning I woke up in a better mood. My head was clearer, and I thought the situation through.
It occurred to me that my neighbour could have felt exactly the same way. "We have this lesson to do, and instead of planning it, she's jumping around in her back room!"
And then I saw the other side of the coin.
The irony.
I'd been ranting to myself about others not being able to get me, when half the time I wasn't attempting to get them either. Incidentally, I'm actually good at seeing other people's points of view. It's just that I have to stop and remind myself to look for them. Before I run them over, that is. Cuz stuff isn't useful when it's in the rear view mirror. Unless you're in reverse.
Today's lesson?
Some things come naturally. Some things we have to work at. And we should work at them.
That goes for everything in life. Just beccause you're the world's best accountant, doesn't mean you can hide in papers and numbers and never develop social skills. Being a fantastic people person doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to use a computer.
The skills we have to work at may never be as good as the ones that come naturally. And on rare occasions, we might do them so well, that we can fool the world it's something we enjoy. But whatever level we reach, there are always benefits to taking a moment to think about it, and developping our 'weaker' sides.
And no, I don't know who died and made me Socrates. Except maybe Socrates (or Plato, or Aristotle).
Free today only - The Billionaire's Enemy
3 years ago
10 comments:
What a good lesson! Thanks for sharing!
Well said, Claire. I'm sure in Japan the pace of life is a little different than here in Texas, but in general I think it's very easy to put ourselves at the center of the universe. Here's the dangerous thing about doing that:
When things are rocking, it's great, because we clearly have everything to do with it. I'm a fan of believing that only self can determine if we've had a good or bad day ... if someone else is doing that than we've given them too much control.
Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." She was right, and I would extend that to inferior, angry, sad, frustrated, etc.
However, along that line of thinking when things are bad (and we're at the center of the universe) it must clearly mean we've caused it or brought it on ourselves.
In reality, we are somewhere between all that; neither are we that significant nor are we insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
I'm going to go meditate now ... :)
I meant, "then" :)
We'd probably all be better off if we could have a good night's sleep before reacting to something that pissed us off. Sometimes when I get bent out of shape, I realize it's not really the current thing that's doing but something earlier on that I didn't face and deal with. It's been simmering. I think you show a lot of wisdom in how you sorted this out, by the way.
Dear Ms. Socrates, you are awesome.
As the World's Best Accountant...I have to agree with everything that you said. As your friend...I would totally have been on your side the whole time.lol
Great lesson. I've been working on that one too.
Thanks guys!
Nothing wrong with being Socrates for the day in my book!
I have the same problem. Stopping to think about it usually helps.
Here's a book I recommend "Discover your Sales Strengths" by Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano. Get it if for no other reason than to do the personality profile which determines your five dominant inner strengths. It talks about how we as a culture tend to focus on what's wrong with us instead of enhancing our natural abilities.
For me: Communication, Winning Others Over, Strategic, Maximizer, and Relator were my top traits. The book mentions that once you know your inner strengths you can accomplish anything you want by "exploiting" them.
On a side note, hug for the rough day!
Elbie, sounds like a great book. I don't think I will get it though, because I already have all that personality stuff sorted. I know I'm bipolar, and ENFP, and I know my strengths and weeknesses from a very in-depth career test I did. All my top prfoessions were in counselling, writing, and English and foreign language education. Yup! Sounds like me!
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