The anger, the sadness, the excitement, the joy. Feelings are not your responsibility, nor are they your fault.
What you do with them, on the other hand, is within your control.
Letting the negative self talk become the only narrative.
Sending an harsh comment in response to the message of a colleague.
Asking others to stop what they are doing and follow the latest idea.
Focus on this.
Don’t tell others what you think they feel about you.
Do not second guess them.
Do not assign to them hidden motives.
Do not make yourself the main character in their own masterpiece.
Tell them what you feel about them instead.
I wanted to buy a shirt for my son. It was a red one, with one single word on it: “Uff!”. I said it was perfect for him, since he is always complaining and he is never happy with what he is given.
He ended up buying another shirt. An orange one with a dragon on it.
The point being, people rarely want to hear what you think is better for them, who you think they are, where they should or should not focus for their development.
Instead, they want to tell you about what they think. And they want you to find it in your heart to abandon your prejudices and support them no matter what.
A way to measure habits is by how long the streak is.
Another way is by how easy it is to start a new one after you’ve taken a break.
If you are about to go on holiday, keep in mind that the job is still going to be there when you are back. That there are very few things that need to happen before you leave, that there are no things that need to happen when you are away, and that there are, again, very few things that need to happen as soon as you are back. In general, businesses move slow. And all the pressure we feel is often self-imposed. Don’t let that ruin your break.
If a colleague is about to go on holiday, keep in mind that the job they are doing will still be meaningful when they are back. That there are very few things that need to happen before they leave, that there are no things that need to happen when they are away, and that there is no reason in the world why it should be a good idea to send their way just a little more pressure, a tiny sudden deadline, an anxiety-inducing and unrequested meeting invite on their last day. Don’t let this ruin their break.
I am going on holiday. And I’ll probably won’t be writing for a while.
That’s ok.
You've got this 