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It's Not Your Fault!
Hey, have you ever felt a bit beat up at work? You know ... a customer or fellow teammate gives you a bad time or lashes out at you for little or no apparent reason?
If so, take comfort in knowing that in most cases it's not about you at all; it's really all about the person doing it. You see, what's very often happening here is simply that ... 'you're on the receiving end of their stuff'.
Let me explain. What you may not know about Ned Nasty, who snapped at you and made you look foolish in front of everyone, is that he happens to be going through a marriage breakup and his whole world is falling apart.
Then there's Mary Monster, who tore a strip off you over some tiny little thing. It turns out that her boss raked HER over the coals before leaving work ... and because she couldn't retaliate there, she kept it all inside until you crossed her path and then, WHAM! ... You got both barrels.
And Carl Crazy, who just had you for lunch over NOTHING, found out the other day that he has cancer and is scared to death.
You see, the behavior of a person is often a reflection of what's going on in some other area of their life, which has absolutely nothing to do with you. Therefore their behavior is not about you at all, it's all about them.
Does this make offensive behavior okay? No, probably not. But being aware of WHY it may be happening can help you in a very important way ... to not take it personally. Just try to understand that there may be something not right in their life at this moment ... and then let it go.
Focus instead on reducing potential 'emotional triggers' for others by providing the most attentive, caring service possible to every customer. Set a personal goal to somehow make everyone feel important and valued. Be supportive, considerate and respectful of your teammates. And recognize that people have things going on in their lives that you don't necessarily know about, but may be affecting their behavior.
To your success,
Reg Neufeld
Growing Into Success Training
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