“Somehow I find, you and I collide” – Howie Day
Like atoms in the universe, there is always a significant probability that we will bump into each other. Similar to forces of nature, we interact with people from all walks of life. Whether it is a curt gesture in the subway turnstile or a weeklong seminar, we rely on our pocketful of social skills. We generally levitate towards positive social enigmas and we fly first class away from the not so ideal ones. However we cannot completely avoid unreasonable, unpredictable and socially unpleasant people.
Let me exemplify by citing a former supervisor. People said every bone in her body is made from a very mean formula therefore she is Mc Meanie. I have never encountered a person who can have premenstrual symptoms 365 days straight. I have mastered how to solve problems with a balance beam in my Physics class but she is of another classification. The element uranium is no match for her unpredictable radioactivity. The mere mention of her name drove drilled nightmares to my head and during weekdays, I had to deal with her Stalin style of administration. Most people gave up and walked away but given my circumstances, I simply could not wave the white flag. I resolved myself to silence whenever she verbally attacks and I learned to sway to her uneven mood swings when it comes to decision making. A whole year went by and I was still standing in her battlefield. Suffice to say I was surviving her. When she left, the whole building turned euphoric and there was a party thrown. I chuckled that it was the first party I ever attended that the “celebrant” was absent. We were free and thanked heavens for karma. Alas! Our joy was short- lived. He person who took her place was something else. She smiles and greets us in the hallway while she devises a devious plan to cut off our oxygen supply. Dolores Umbridge pales in comparison to her devilish schemes. As I see my co workers being forced to resign or simply not showing up- I thought of Mc Meanie. I came to realize that I would rather deal with her rather than be pleasant with a devil in disguise. Mc Meanie may be an oversize bully but she taught me two valuable lessons- toughen up when the going gets rough and faking it is not worth it. Despite the financial woes it would bring to me, I quit. I chose to be real and not deal with fake people. Mc Meanie and I collided so many times yet to this day; I thank her for giving me a different perspective on how it is to be nice. I’d rather work with a bitch than with a walking Angel of Death.
I am now in a much better working environment and in this cloudy Sunday afternoon, I give thanks to Mc Meanie for the testing me a hundred times and molded me with the social survival skills that would come in handy for other inevitable collisions.
Good point and great attitude!
The integrity and character of a person is shown when the chips are down and the obstacles are great. There is something to be learned from everybody and it usually involves us learning about ourselves.
Good post!