Someone asks you a question. Not a quick yes or no question, but a question that will guarantee a fairly substantial conversation will immediately follow. You begin to answer and instead of engaging in the conversation, they answer with a “uh huh” and change the topic. Woah! What happened?! Was it something I said? You asked! Don’t ask if you really don’t give a shit. Sigh. See – I know at this point, I know you didn’t hear what I had to say. And I find that incredibly disheartening. I could have spoken up – called you on the fact that you tuned me out, but I let it go. Too tired.
Today, I’ve been busting butt at work. It’s lunch, and rather than spend 20 minutes surfing facebook while I eat, I thought I’d write to you all.
I find it interesting, the amount of barriers we, as humans, are constantly having to face. Whether it’s traffic jams on the way to work, a boss you have to convince to fund a project, an angry customer you have to work with, or a two year old you have to convince to go to bed. The barriers can be large or small, but I’d bet you’d find a pattern in the type of barriers we consistently find ourselves facing. Mine involve communication. Learning to speak up when I need to and shut up when I don’t. I haven’t mastered it yet… probably never will. But I’ll keep swimming all the same.
Just keep swimming.
I like your use of the language. Fun and refreshing.
Never “Shut Up”