A few weeks ago when I was having workplace meltdown, a friend of mine reminded me to chill. He said I was taking it all too seriously, because it’s what I do; not who I am. I got it then, but today I completely understand the application of the concept.
As I sit at my desk weeding through competing priorities, I had to take the time to decompress like I do (blog). It occurs to me that a lot of times I don’t use the information received in my personal life to survive at work. But it’s all relative. Ironic? A little. While I can learn to read and respond to people in my personal life, or learn to budget my time, or a million other things in my personal life and use them at work, and vice versa, what I can’t do is absorb what happens in the course of business and allow it to alter who I am, how I feel, or stress me. Fact: If I die this instant, I’ll be replaced. Fact: If I mess up something, the sun will still rise, and the world will continue turning. Fact: Deadlines belong to their originator. Conclusion: It’s really not that serious–for me. Because while this is my job, and I pride myself on excellence, accuracy, and efficiency, it’s not my passion/reason for existence, nor do I expect it to contribute to my happiness. Meanwhile, my passion continues to flow, my book covers are almost complete, my ISBN’s have been assigned, my newest books will be released this week, and life as I know it will not cease or fade in any way because of the workplace. The worst that can happen is I get to sit here another day, with another set of competing deadlines, and deal with the next thing. Oh, is that all?
Right. Everything tied to our livelihood tends to take a toll on us at the most inopportune times, and sometimes we will say we’re not trippin, or we’ll try our best to detach from the nonsense at work, but every now and then we’ll find ourselves talking about work in our personal time, losing sleep the night before/after, dreading that interaction with so-and-so, or in a hospital checking our pressure every half hour. Yeah, easier said than done I know. But really what is your worst-case scenario for this particular issue at hand? I doubt you’ll be fired tomorrow, so even if that were an issue, you still have today to make some arrangements. Seriously, it’s never that serious. And it helps to remember the birds. They always eat, and they never worry about where they will live/sleep/be tomorrow. I swear without faith, I’d be a nut case. Relax. Ease up. And do what you do best. Then leave it on the desk.
From the Mind of:
Tonya D. Floyd,
The Devil is in the workplace too.
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