I had an incident at the office today that made me think more about myself and others. This morning I came up to my security officer watching him ask some contractors to move their vehicles and park where they were supposed to. But one of the contractors immediately gave him attitude. When I walked over to him, I was met with the same hostile attitude. This was first thing in the morning as I had just arrived at the office. When I had a chance to think about what had happened, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “what could have happened to this guy that made him feel the need to be so mean to us?”
Tested
We all have bad days. Life makes sure we are always tested. Most of us try to be kind to others even when we are faced with aversion. Some of us may try to stay away from talking or being around other people when we know our day has been “too much to handle.” Others may try to fight through it or seek substance to ease our minds. (I won’t speak of the glass of wine I have right now.) No matter what you do, we all have a breaking point.
Boiling Point
Have you ever had such a day you snap at the next person to say hi to you? I know I have. I even did it today to a coworker. How easy is it for us to bottle our emotions and stress until we hit the boiling point? I lost count of how many videos I have seen talking about how men were taught at a young age to not show their emotions. I see it now with my son. Boys are not allowed to cry because it means they are weak. They cannot yell and scream or they are considered mean or have anger issues. Then you look at the girls and we are not much better. But why?
Conditioned
We get conditioned to hide everything. But then we become closed off, cold, and rude. We must be prim and proper. Show the right amount of strength, but not too much. Stand tall, but not taller than everyone else. It is no wonder our kids are growing up as confused adults. Emotions are in everyone. Man, woman, young and old. We all have good days, and we all have bad days. So how do we get through each day without making a bad day worse?
A Bad Day Worse
Recently I have gone to see my cardiologist and they scheduled me for a specific test for my blood pressure. (Recently means May of this year.) The test was originally scheduled for July 3rd. I received a call 2 weeks prior from the office stating they have to postpone the test because the technician was taking the day off. And the next test wasn’t until September 19th. I remember so clearly the office assistant telling me that she was so scared to call me and tell me this. Worried that I was going to yell at her. She expressed such gratitude when I told her that I would never do that. I know it is not her fault. And me getting upset or yelling at her would not make anything better. There is no need for it. The sigh she made was very audible.
It’s all Small Stuff
Just because life is testing me, doesn’t give me the right to hurt someone else. The quote “don’t sweat the small stuff” is a very strong statement. We hang on every moment in our lives. The good and the bad. But if we dwell on those moments we cannot control, those times when it is more of an inconvenience, we tend to miss out on the good times. If you see only the trouble and stress in life, all of those small precious moments will pass you by.
We all have emotions. Everyone has stress. It is when you carefully choose which moments in life are more important than others. The definition of good days and bad days only comes when you decide what deserves your focus and your emotion.
Enjoy this video.
With great warmth,
