Many years ago when I was much younger and could stay up late, I had a night time ritual. Every night before I went to bed, I would watch at least an hour of stand-up comedy on television.
I studied comedians, got to know some of them by face and many of them by name. One night there was this new comedian performing, I don’t remember his name,1 but I remember a portion of his act.
He joked about how everyone was always in a panic to be first. First in line to get the latest gadget. First in line at the bank. First in line at the grocery store. He said: You know what? I don’t wanna be first, I wanna be next!2
Even though it was meant as a joke, I’ve never forgotten it and consider it one of my life lessons. It made me wonder why we make everything, simple things, a competition to be first? I don’t know, maybe we are inherently competitive and can’t help ourselves?
There’s a guy named Greg Packer who makes a “hobby out of attending public appearances and is known for being first in line for such occasions. He is even credited with being first in line to purchase an iPhone in 2007, 110 hours before it went on sale.” Why?
I guess we love being first. We get the attention, the bragging rights and let’s face it, sometimes it feels good being on top, but sometimes it’s an exhausting race to nowhere.
“Does being first really have the upper hand over being second or even fifth? Not necessarily. Sometimes getting the formula right matters more than doing it first.” 3
One thing I dislike about daylight savings time is having to drive home from work in the dark. Reason being: I can’t see. I can’t count the number of times I have driven on the curb thinking it was a driveway or completely missing my turn altogether because I could not find the driveway.1
If I have to drive at night, with people in the car, in between conversation I work in the occasional “I can’t see” or “I hope nobody steps out in front of the car” or “It sure is dark”, just so they know my last words.
I’m a great driver but sometimes I have to rely on my hearing to guide my way, or listen out for screams when I’m temporarily unable to see. This got me to thinking would I rather be blind or deaf. If I had to lose one of these two senses, which one could I live without? As much as I LOVE music, I would have to give up my hearing because I could still be independent and deaf.
Several years ago, I took a course in ASL (American Sign Language) I never completed, but I’m still a quick finger speller and would have no problem communicating as a deaf person. If however, I lost my sight….well I get lost with the lights on. I would not be able to cope as well.
Out of curiosity which one would you choose? Would you rather be blind or deaf and why?
A little over a week ago I started feeling a nagging pain in my right index finger, especially around the joint area. The pain went away and then a few days later it returned. I thought it was kind of weird for only one of my fingers to be hurting, but okay.
Then I thought, maybe the pain had something to do with the graph below. I’m not an EntreCard drop master, yet, but do you think the repetitive clicking and scrolling has anything to do with it? 1
Of course, I can’t tell anyone why my finger really hurts. The real reason would seem so silly or too embarrassing that it’s just not worthy of the truth. Surely, I can come up with something a lot more colorful that will leave a crowd of listeners on the edge of their seats.
Here’s my “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it” reason for the soreness: I hit my finger on a tree branch while parachuting out of a plane. Much better. I’m a brave daredevil not a repetitive mouse clicker. A sore finger from dropping? I don’t think so.
Meanwhile, my finger continues to receive lots of TLC, massages and stretching. If that doesn’t work then I still have one more digit that is capable of clicking until I have to use my left hand.
What’s your most unbelievable injurystory? I know it’s funny, so spill it. Did you fess up or did you paint a colorful picture?
It’s been a few days and I’m still moping around like somebody drained my retirement account and sucked the life out of me right along with it. I think the term used to describe my demeanor was “out of character“. It’s true. First of all, I have nothing to say, no punch lines, no jokes, no nothing. That’s not me.
I haven’t felt like doing much of anything either, I’ve been on strike.1 Every living thing for itself.
Sleep seems to be the only thing on my mind these days. I hate to admit this, but earlier this week someone became ill at work and I was told that they were resting in the other room on the couch. After they finished giving me additional instructions, all I could think was: “There’s a couch in that room?”
I’ve been so pathetic that I even went on the internet and typed in a search for ways to get out of a bad mood. How lame. I should do what?
Listen to music and dance, I’m not a cast member of Fame. Breaking out in a song or dance in the middle of an attitude does not happen in real life. Although doing The Carlton Dance always makes me feel better.
Take a bubble bath. Ahhh, yes, that sounds nice. Get a massage? Pamper myself? Tell me more.
Get a make over? Do I really look that bad? I know it’s been days since I combed my hair and yes my appearance is connected to my mood.
Okay, fine. I’ll do it, but before I go for my extreme makeover, to all those who have been putting up with my attitude, I just want to say one thing: You should be used to me by now I’m sorry and thanks for not bailing. Send cookies.
Writing, laughing, etc. is therapeutic and it’s free. What gets you out of a funk? Thanks to [http://slam101.blogspot.com/] who gave me the idea to use meez.com in this blog post.
“A man [or woman] is only as happy as he chooses to be.” Abraham Lincoln
Is it safe to say that chronic complainers are unhappy people who are never satisfied? I think so. I’m no Ms. Positive, I complain, I think we all do at some point, but some people never stop complaining.
Maybe I’m getting old or less tolerant of people, but my truth is: I don’t want to hear it. I find myself avoiding these “energy suckers” because they are just too darn depressing and often times, they are not complaining about the issue but the symptom. I guess it would be hypocritical to sit here and complain about complainers, so how can we best deal with them without being mean or telling them to shut up.
Resist the urge to strangle or smother them with a pillow. I admit, I thought about this on a few occasions.
Listen to them. This is the difficult part, but important because it acknowledges their feelings and concerns. We can also listen for information, facts, what is not being said or the motive behind what was said.
Show empathy. Dr. Bernard Guerney of Pennsylvania State University says that empathy is ‘the capacity to appreciate the other person’s feelings and point of view—whether you agree with him or not.
Stay off the bandwagon. Someone, maybe at work, will start complaining about something and before we know it, we are right there with them feeding the fire. Complaining, especially to the wrong person, does not accomplish anything and now instead of having one unhappy person, we have two unhappy people.
In his book, The No Complaining Rule, Jon Gordon says one of the most important things we can do in business and in life is to stay positive with strategies that turn negative energy into positive solutions. The goal is not to eliminate all complaining, just mindless chronic complaining.
How do you deal with complainers in your life and at work? I like this humorous take in the video below.
