Perspective

[susandennis]

I lead a charmed life these days - particularly work wise. I am paid well for work I like that I get to do at home on pretty much my own time line. When I stop and think about exactly what my perfect life would look and feel like, to be honest, it does not vary much more than what my life looks and feels like already.

So when I have complaints - sometimes even while I am complaining - I am stuck by how ridiculous those complaints really are. Usually they are ground in my perceived idiocy of others.

• If you set a weekly conference call for 10 a.m. on Wednesdays why do you start it at 10:15 every week? Why don't you reset it for 10:15 and start on time?



• When you tell me to do x, I'm pretty much going to do x. If you mean y, you really need to say y and not x in order for me to understand what you want.



• Yeah yeah just because we are forced to work together does not mean I need to chit chat with you about your vacation - unless you give me time to be very clear about how little I want care.?



• Your job is to make sure you have completely vetted the client's request before it gets to me. That's why they call you the manager and me the producer.?

Etc. Etc. This is the crap that rattles through my brain all day long every day.

It's not only stressful but it's counter productive and useless and annoying. And it needs to stop.

I have no tolerance for this kind of crap in other people, why do I tolerate it in me? Ah ha! There in lies the answer. That's where I find the perspective.

My new trick is - whenever I feel a complaint sailing through - I transfer it to someone I don't like much. I have plenty of suspects but my latest one is someone who's frequently annoying. I'll call her Ann. So, let's say Ann is complaining that the conference call doesn't start on time. My response to her would be 'what the fuck do you care? you are getting paid by the hour. play solitaire for 15 minutes and get paid for it. and shut up.'

Somehow it's easier for me to grasp the ridiculousness of my complaints when I can transfer them to Ann. Plus, it's fun cause she's such an idiot...