HOW TO HELP REVIVE AN AUTOMATON

This article originally appeared in IEEE-USA InSight. It is reprinted here with permission from IEEE-USA. Copyright 2019 IEEE.

“I’m going through a transitional period.” I had repeated this line so often, it came out automatically.

At the time, I was emotionally bankrupt. I was freshly out of a bad relationship and didn’t know where my company was headed. Like a ship caught in a tempest, I felt tossed about and unsteady. I couldn’t tell if I should keep crawling forward or try sailing in a new direction. It was all very disconcerting.

Still, I didn’t want to bother others with my problems. When a person is struggling, people don’t always know what to say. It can be very uncomfortable, so I started giving this rote “transitional period” response. It allowed me to reply without going into detail. It worked most of the time, for friends and strangers alike. But not with Molly.

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