Workplace Frustration Solved?

"Sometimes simply realizing that difficult people’s behavior is about them, not you, can make them easier to deal with. And since you’re never going to be able to eliminate difficult people from your work life entirely, figuring out how to remain unflappable in the face of crazy-making personalities can be surprisingly satisfying." - Alison Green

"You really piss me off!" How many times have you wanted to say that to a co-worker but knew how unprofessional it would be, so you just kept it to yourself and moved on? How many times have you witnessed egregious behavior at work, and the boss chooses to do absolutely nothing about it? How many times have you felt like just going home demoralized or dejected due to a co-worker getting away with bloody murder? We have all been there at one time or another, and some a lot more than others. This is something that has bothered me my entire life, whether it was professionally or personally. I always follow the rules, and it really grinds on me to see others do what they want with no regard for anyone else but themselves. It's really beyond frustrating.

Self-criticism has always been a constant thing with me, ever since I can remember. I would work tirelessly to try to become the best at everything I did, whether it was mowing the lawn, washing a car, or surfing. I just didn't quit working at it. I would never settle for second best, and I would always overanalyze the situation to come up with better ways to do things. I have always been very hard on myself, and I probably will be until the day I die. For me, some things I do are never good enough, but I continue trying to get that monkey off my back. I tend to be a workaholic and give more of myself than I probably should, but here I am still trying to work that out at 54 years of age.

A while back I was talking with my mom about some issues I was having at work, and she asked me something that I had never thought of before. She said, "Have you ever thought that the problem is not what's being done but how you are reacting to it?" It was so profound that it took some time for that to sink in. Could it be this whole time that the problems I have been experiencing were coming at my own expense? Is it possible that I have indirectly chosen this path by not looking at the root of the problem? The answer is a big HELL YES, and it took my mom to put me on the path to enlightenment. The problem is the way I reacted to each situation, and that needs to be addressed.

As we go through life, we continue to work on ourselves to help us be the best human beings we can possibly be. Only through trial and error are we able to determine what the appropriate path for each of us is. Life is difficult and not easy, but we have more power over that life than we realize. We are the ones that decide what each and every one of us will or won't tolerate, which does give us all the power. In the words of a song by the group Snap, "I've got the power."