So today I have had to sit down and listen to things that annoy me. I cannot decide if it is because it requires a change of processes in work or whether or not I wish to remind someone that things are done differently here, or just because I know they are being annoying for the sake of being pernickety.
Now I am by nature a reasonable man and am fairly understanding of other peoples’ needs. At no point will I claim that I tolerate those needs or desires. I can see how people thin and behave and normally can foresee when something is going to be difficult.
Today’s task it seems is going to be so painful that I already wish to turn around and say no. In fact I will probably look at making their lives as equally difficult as they seem to enjoy making mine.
Call me petty, small, vile, it is of no consequence; should there comes a time when ‘being reasonable’ comes back into the picture then maybe I will be more understanding.
It is like my dinner, it is reasonable if uninspiring. It is not really what I want to eat but ‘circumstance’, the defrosting of said item means I am accepting of its needs and will vanquish insipidity with my stiff upper lip.
I will not however tolerate the waste of said dinner, similarly I don’t like my time being wasted, especially by other people who do not understand the implications of their demands. If I am to waste my time, then I should be able to decide when and how, after all it is my time.
Would you let other people waste your time and stamp their feet like little children because you do things differently from how they are used to?
I did not think so!
So why is it ok for them to do it with me. I have little enough time to waste during my working hours, so little in fact that my writing has suffered as a consequence. This irritates me no end but I do understand why it is necessary.
Does that make me overworked or an overzealous workaholic? Maybe I just must cure the I care about my work syndrome and be like everyone else and erstwhile moron who has no grasp of the English language.
Or maybe I should take a leaf out of my friends books and turn into a cynical pshychonaut who abuses the very fabric of peoples’ minds.
No I know I will buy a forest and go and live as a hermit, where the cares of others no longer become the preserve of my very existence.
You may wonder why all this bitterness, it boils down to simplicity. I can help anyone who wants to be helped. I will attempt to help people who are lost causes, ‘knight in shining armour syndrome’ is the correct term. Yet I am incapable of managing my needs and expectations.
Sound familiar?
Yes I love helping others so much that I don’t really remember how to help myself.
Does anyone have a tip on how to help me help myself? Please note no self help manuals…. You know who you are…
Signing Off
Lemon Tree Man
After reading this article, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to you for having to sit thru such a painful meeting. For those who doesn’t know or refuse to understand how things are done differently elsewhere .. so be it. For a change, I think LTM should just do something different! *eevilgrinz*…..Simply rise to the challenge and return the favour of making their lives as difficult as they are making yours! Hey, who says one has to keep taking unreasonable things coming our way and not retaliate at some point yes?
ReplyDeleteDon’t get me wrong…being Mr Reasonable and Helpful is most definitely a good thing (especially for people who REALLY need it ;)) but everyone has a threshold and with time wasting and tantrum throwing in the equation…Egawd! Forget about being reasonable and helpful! Quick! Out the window I say!!!!
Having said that, I most certainly would recommend LTM to hold his horses and not dash out to buy a forest and become a hermit…. Noooooo………… that would make BPS very sad and it’s not allowed according to the TPS’ T&C :P…. And plus, forests have snakes and it will make the lives of your visitors difficult… location wise, it might get good meaning friends who want to visit lost in the forest and that’s when even mebe the GPS might not be able to help :P
So the moral of the story is…don’t let some unreasonable demands or requests (regardless of how irritating and annoying they are) stop you from crusade of helping those need and want help..it’s good for karma and it’s good for the soul…. Hence, instead of buying a forest, shouldn’t LTM start getting a white horse instead! ;)
PS: And ohs, to answer your question, BPS will help you….all you need to do is ask :)