Being Considerate

I am not a docile person. I grew up in an angry household, and cultivated my rage well, throughout my teens. 

I have tried to commend myself by describing my attitude as "being blunt" or my favorite "just being honest" - but the truth is, people do not react favorably to my natural attitude. 

I have always been an introspective and observant person, but I never realized that my "attitudinal compass" was so askew that my introspection didn't lead to much change or growth. Which sucks.

So I'm trying to re-calibrate. 

Today was an exercise to that endeavor, as I will briefly discuss below.

I've been trying to reach a lady with an important account issue for about 3 weeks. I sent emails and voice mails with with only one response... for me to call her back. Today had to write a letter, and I wanted to just tear into her. But I knew if I reacted with my natural attitude it could affect several other accounts.

So I changed my point of view. I did not make assumptions about why she hasn't contacted me. Instead I was considerate. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and offered options to resolve the issue. 

I will say, I still felt my rage and had an internal dialog that's not fit to print, but I used my head instead of my emotions. I guess that's what my counselor meant when he said my emotions should be the caboose of the train, not the engine. 

I'll let you know how it turns out...

Thought for the day:

Having my emotions in the "caboose" keeps me steady on the track.

~Laura