Rise Above It …

I was picking up a few things at Walmart and when it came time to check out, I noticed a counter without a line. After I paid and was ready to head out, the checkout person said, "Thanks for being nice." I thanked her and asked, "Is it that hard?"

She added, "Over the last couple of years with Covid, you’d be shocked how rude people have become. I guess the stress of Covid brought it out in a lot of people. My solution, I just breathe and stay polite. That's how I was raised."

My Takeaway …
I came away from the conversation with two things. One, she did not let another person's bad behavior change her. And the second thing, she offered a solution. We've all worked with people that always complain but never offer anything to address the issue. The checkout lady was on target with everything she said.

She Nailed It ...
I think we've all noticed an uptick in rudeness from people. It's been one of the side effects of the pandemic we could do without. I'm not saying many people don't have good reason to be on edge. There are mask questions and misinformation, inflation with rising food costs, political discord, social issues popping up again that we thought had been resolved, and workloads that have become less than ideal for too many.

Hard To Believe ...
I know of a cluster of stations that lost their Production Director last fall and still hasn't been replaced. The fix has been to let the PDs of the stations rotate Production Director duties among themselves. This is in addition to being on the air, scheduling music, and the occasional remote. This bunch has a right to be grouchy. There are a lot of stations facing new conditions that have stretched the nerves of staffs.

My Solution ...
There are things you can do to ease the pressures of dealing with rude co-workers and increased work responsibilities. You need to do things that you like and will give you a mental break. No matter whether you're still working remotely from home or going into to work every day, you've got to reduce your stress level.

Maybe One Of These Will Do The Trick For You:

• Wordle
• Cross Word Puzzles
• Fantasy League Baseball-Football-Basketball
• Walking
• Lifting Weights
• Reading (Nothing work related)
• Take a Yoga Class (In person or online)
• Listening To Music
• Playing Golf
• Keep A Journal
• Write A Blog
• Become A Collector Of Something
• Shoot hoops
• Jog
• Ride Horses

You Control You ...
Bob Dylan wrote a song called “Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight.” There's a line in the song that speaks to what you owe yourself. "Yesterday is just a memory, tomorrow is never what it's supposed to be." Don’t let the chaotic universe around you dictate how you handle your well being and peace of mind.