Thursday, July 1, 2010

Introspection

At work a few weeks ago, I helped two people who were in the same situation. In both cases, the individual did not like the options that were available, and it was an inconvenience for both of the people, both time wise and financially. What amazed me was how differently each individual dealt with the situation.

The first lady was grateful, positive, and willing to try to make it work. She asked tons of questions, found ways that suggestions would work for her, and sent me an email the next day thanking me for the help, and telling me the solution wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be.

The second man was the exact opposite. He was angry, rolled his eyes at every suggestion I gave, and found reasons why every solution I gave him would not work for his situation. He also sent me an email the next day, but again was angry, and insisted that I was just trying to make things difficult for him.

Both of the individuals had the same situation, but one made it harder on himself by his reaction to his circumstances. By trying to show me how difficult I was making his life (even though I had nothing to do with the situation, and was only trying to help) he really just made his life more difficult, by refusing to accept the help I offered. It made me think of the times that I do this. It’s almost like I need to prove to myself and others how difficult my life is by making things even harder than they need to be. It was an eye opener for me, and I’m trying to find ways to be more like the first person. I think the keys are gratitude and humility.

1 comment:

Woolverton Girl said...

I would probably have been more like the 2nd person. I don't always have a very good attitude about things. I, too, am trying to work on that.... along with many other things :)

I enjoyed your little story. It makes me want to try harder.