My One Week Late Resolution

I just came up with a new resolution.

It seems that in the past few months (maybe more), I have lost my sense of perspective when it comes to the attitudes of those around me. I'm normally the first person to say that nothing's personal, and that the way an individual treats you is all about THEM and nothing about YOU. This includes thoughtless co-workers.

And yet as of late I feel like I'm at the end of my rope with some of these people!

Yesterday I really felt like I was about to explode on someone and it wasn't even 10:00 yet. I have lazy co-workers, thoughtless ones, ones who are just poised and ready to throw someone under the bus for any small mistake of their own, and my favorite: people who talk you half to death over an issue that could have been resolved within the first 5 minutes of their monologue if they had just shut up for a minute.

I find that as of late I'm taking everything very personally. Doesn't A know that I have better things to do than to cover for them when they're late? Doesn't B know that no one should have to take the blame for their oversights? Doesn't C know that they're a total windbag and it's rude to waste my time like this???? Do they think I'm so stupid that I require a step-by-step explanation of a simple problem???

And then I remembered: It's not about me. It's about them.

Nothing, no infringement, no real or perceived trespass against you by anyone else has anything to do with you. It's all about them. Everyone is the star in their own one-man show. All others are simply supporting players.

So the person who's always looking for someone to throw under the bus is really just desperately worried about keeping their job and feels like the slightest mistake might threaten that. The thoughtless one is...just thoughtless, to the point of not considering anyone else but themselves. That's just how some people are. The windbag just never learned how to get to the point, it has nothing to do with whether or not they think I'm intelligent.

It's this way everywhere, all over the world. So now I wonder: have I ever put someone in the position I was in yesterday?

My resolution then is to keep remembering the things I tend to forget about human nature. That knowledge makes life easier to deal with.