Today I found out what it is like to be that kid.
You know the one I'm taking about.
They were the kid back in school who always thought they were one of the cool crowd. They were a happy kid. And then Valentine's Day would come. They would joyfully roam the room, distributing Valentines to most of the other kids. Then they would return to their seat and immediately pull the lid off of their carefully decorated red shoe-box, eagerly anticipating the bountiful loot to be found within.
However, as they peered inside in an advanced stage of shock, there was only one Valentine to be revealed.
And it was from the teacher.
I can now sympathize with that kid.
They recently set up a box at my work where staff could fill out papers saying nice things that they noticed about each other. Today the box was emptied out and everyone's notes were put into stacks. I was excited as I walked over. I am all about positive reinforcement, especially when it is directed at me. As I scanned the piles of little orange papers, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw mine.
There was one paper in the stack.
It was written by my boss.
I may have voiced my disbelief a little too much at this point. And by "may have", I mean that I did. Not one of my finer moments.
This was actually a great thing to happen, because it was a humbling moment. There are times when I think that I am the cool, popular kid. But, alas, I was not meant to be that kid.
I am the quirky one.
And don't you forget it.
By the end of work, a few of my other co-workers had written me more notes, but most of them were in the same handwriting, so I have my suspicions. I love those girls who wrote them, and I know that they were sincere. Honestly, I love all of my co-workers. I know they don't hate me or anything. But, I'd already seen the unflattering beginning of the day results.
Combine that experience with the news that we'll be having some of the higher ups come in and critique us, and I had been presented with an awesome chance to do some real soul searching at work. It was an opportunity to stop and analyze everything that I do, and everything I do not do. I'm excited to set some goals for myself and try to become the very best person I can be in all aspects of my life, not just my health. I'm always open to new ideas of how I can improve, especially at work, so while I'm trying to make some steps in the right direction before I'm analyzed for faults, I'm interested in hearing the results, afterwards.
An unexpected bonus of all of these thoughts in my head, is that it put me in the right state of mind to play a sweet game of lightning basketball with my co-workers, and actually sink one or two shots.
So, hey, all in all, I have to say that today was a good day.
What?! I am baffled that you didn't get more notes! I always thought you were the cool kid, and to me, you still are. I can sympathize with you though. One time at the Inn, Brandie tried doing things like this, I don't know if you were still there or not, but each week someone was spot lighted and everyone could write something nice about said person. I was excited when I saw my name come up... but totally bummed because 4 days later no one had written anything except for Matt who wrote (and I quote) "I like your taste in music." Nor Brandie or MaryBeth, Ron, anyone wrote anything nice. It was awful. Pretty sure I was revengeful and asked everyone (minus Matt) to take a shift for me so I could go home for a few days. Probably not the best way to handle it. So good for you for seeing the positives!
ReplyDelete