A co-worker of mine the other day appeared to be on edge about just about everything in her life, especially about how she felt she was being treated at work. I found myself at odds with her because I just thought that she was taking the actions of our boss, who I believe is trying to be equitable in her dealings with me and my co-workers in this slumped economy, so I just decided that she was being a bitch and was taking it all too personally. I also decided that she simply could not be trusted and that I had best avoid her whenever I could. This afternoon, I needed to follow her over to drop off a car to her mom and I was to bring her back to the store. What a wonderful opportunity to let her talk and me to just listen on the way back. I got to see my own shadow about taking things personally, that is, allowing myself to be vulnerable to my feelings of inadequacy and not being appreciated for getting the job done consciously and making connections with people rather than just doing the job “for the money.” I got to see into my past how I created so much suppressed anger and resentment around this issue of not feeling appreciation from others, while at the same time not appreciating myself for who I am rather than what someone else might think of me.
