This morning, I stopped by my local grocer and noticed there were a bunch of needed items on sale. So I decided to stock up. I spent a lot of time at the self-checkout. Just as I finished, the system crashed. I called over the store clerk, who couldn’t fix it. Nor could the supervisor or manager. Seems they were having problems with their checkout system all day.
They had to re-scan all my items. They were all understandably irritable. They tried to hold onto their humanity by forcing a smile and asking for my patience. I replied, “Well, if the system hadn’t broken down, I wouldn’t appreciate of how smoothly it goes every other day. And I know just how the system feels. It’s tired, overloaded and can’t take on one more task.” And I laughed. Then they laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. For once, someone was not going to yell at them.
I returned the later and asked playfully if the system was feeling better. The manager said, “I want to buy you a coffee--on me. I can’t tell you how much we appreciated how patient you were.”
And I saw, in that moment, the impact of choosing a positive perspective when life throws us a curve. It wasn't just about me staying calm for me, it was me staying calm for them. For us. For the preservation of community, joy, laughter, forgiveness, appreciation...To create and preserve a kinder, more compassionate world.
Truthfully, I didn't have the heart to tell her I didn’t want coffee but I knew she needed to thank me in this way. (So if I seem a bit jittery, I hope you’ll understand...)
~~~~
Debby Rauch Lissaur, CPCC is a Leadership and Life Coach, certified by both the world-renowned Coaches Training Institute and by the International Coach Federation. She is passionate about social & emotional intelligence, seeing others through the lens of compassion, and believes in seeing the humor in every day life. If you would like to know more about her work, whether you are a corporation or an individual interested in coaching, you can reach out to her via email: [email protected].
Sanity is right around the corner…
They had to re-scan all my items. They were all understandably irritable. They tried to hold onto their humanity by forcing a smile and asking for my patience. I replied, “Well, if the system hadn’t broken down, I wouldn’t appreciate of how smoothly it goes every other day. And I know just how the system feels. It’s tired, overloaded and can’t take on one more task.” And I laughed. Then they laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. For once, someone was not going to yell at them.
I returned the later and asked playfully if the system was feeling better. The manager said, “I want to buy you a coffee--on me. I can’t tell you how much we appreciated how patient you were.”
And I saw, in that moment, the impact of choosing a positive perspective when life throws us a curve. It wasn't just about me staying calm for me, it was me staying calm for them. For us. For the preservation of community, joy, laughter, forgiveness, appreciation...To create and preserve a kinder, more compassionate world.
Truthfully, I didn't have the heart to tell her I didn’t want coffee but I knew she needed to thank me in this way. (So if I seem a bit jittery, I hope you’ll understand...)
~~~~
Debby Rauch Lissaur, CPCC is a Leadership and Life Coach, certified by both the world-renowned Coaches Training Institute and by the International Coach Federation. She is passionate about social & emotional intelligence, seeing others through the lens of compassion, and believes in seeing the humor in every day life. If you would like to know more about her work, whether you are a corporation or an individual interested in coaching, you can reach out to her via email: [email protected].
Sanity is right around the corner…
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