I worked with this one chick, and she used to *irritate me endlessly.
We were given directives at work and expected to carry them out. She would get such a look on her face and go and complain. I would roll my round petulant eyes and wish she would just shut up and deliver. I cringed at making the boss mad.
"Discontent is the first necessity of progress."
— Thomas A. Edison
That was a looooooong time ago**. I’ve never forgotten that obstinate chick. For years I believed she lingered in my mind because she was such a jerk. Then one day, something occurred to me and forevermore I realize she lingered because I was such a people pleaser. I have since found balance. You can learn a lot from a jerk. Now, when things are ridonculous, I'm the first to say, with a wry smile, "We'll just see about that!". I don't go in with guns and fireworks like MsThing did. Mine is a more poignant and disarming process. I generally say "can we find another way to accomplish this?" or "help me to understand...". I do that because I'm hoping to prevent and calm opposition by those who would have me conform and fit neatly into there pre-made box. Read on.
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." — George Bernard Shaw
She raised hell, that chica. She was, at times, a 4’9” piranha and I did not like her much. We were tasked with the most stressful demands and I wanted to buckle down and get it done. She marched her angry self into the bosses office and flat out told him what she thought of his demands. Meanwhile, I kept thinking how I wished she’d just be quiet. I reasoned: “You don’t see any of us complaining, do you?”. I’ll cut to the chase: the boss found another way to get things done. I learned something that day but it took years of rankle and resentment before I could see what was right in front of me. So...
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
— Jack Kerouac
And just so you know:
*"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."
— Carl Gustav Jung
**“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” -Pema Chodron
If something is lingering on your mind, sit with it a minute.
Complaining is not necessarily bad.
"You will never change what you tolerate." — JO
Know what I mean? A response or comment is most welcome. Are you following my RSS or this blog? Wish you would =)
Namaste,
~Olive
