straw

a weird thing happened recently.

the day started out great, in spite of the insane humidity. i got to work early, so i saw no one for the first part of the morning.

and then things started falling apart.

it seemed that i was one of the few having a good day. nearly everyone i spoke to was angry, upset, discouraged, frustrated, tired or just plain down.

by mid-day i had started to feel my good mood waning, and had no idea why. it was only after i got home and started objectively looking at my day did i realize that my own downward spiral was caused simply by the negativity that had been popping in and out of my life all day.

no one, least of all me, likes to think that we are weak-minded enough to be so easily swayed by surroundings, but that day proved that whether or not i want to be susceptible, i am.

but i believe the main problem wasn't the emotions themselves, but the sheer number of them. i cannot remember which one was the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back', pushing me into a negative mindset, but i know it was there.

all this has made me re-examine my own propensity for the negative and the cynical, and realize that i have a responsibility to my co-workers and friends to not let the things that tend to drag me down win as often as they do. yes, we all have rough times, and there are things that should frustrate and anger us. but as part of a team, i need to recognize that my mood affects everyone else. {yes, i realize that most learned this in kindergarten, making me a gold medalist in the slow learner catetgory!}

i really don't want to be that last straw, pushing someone else into a place where they didn't want to go.

we all have a responsibility to one another...