Working with colleagues from all around the world, I sometimes have conference calls early in the morning. Today was no exception. On the line was a woman who tends to make snide remarks and easily comes across as condescending toward others. On this particular morning, she decided to throw me a punch and I reacted frustratingly and quickly decided that this was no way I wanted to start my morning and now my day was ruined. After the call was over, I grumpily stomped around the house and hastily left shortly after. During my hour+ commute, I reflected on my reaction and thought about how her lack of judgment affected me, how I probably dampened J's morning having witnessed my frown, and how my poor mood affected how considerate I was on the road, and how that would affect other drivers, and so on. I thought about how much power one person can have and how many lives one person can touch whether positively or negatively through his/her interaction with just one other person. I think I have always known this, but today it affected me differently because I truly realized that I could be a part of this downstream effect if I wanted to. But I didn't. I want to be someone who will trigger a joyful ripple effect, not someone who will initiate or continue a negative one. Gosh, one person can make a difference.
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