Yesterday I did something very un-Joel-like…
I was coming out of the post office back to my car and saw a parking warden about to write me a ticket. (I had paid for 25 minutes at the parking meter, but actually took 26 minutes at the post office, so I was only 1 minute late.)
I ran up to the parking guy and was like, “dude, I’m only 1 minute late…”.
But instead of a “sorry man” or “its my job” type of response I was expecting, the guy replied something very unprofessional and rude. He didn’t even look up at me, he just pulled out his ticket book and walked to the back of my car.
This made me a little mad, so I thought I’d match his rudeness with rudeness of my own…
So while he was walking to the back of my car, I just quickly jumped in the drivers seat, turned on the car and drove off. I thought if he was smart enough to take a photo of my license plate, he could send me a ticket in the mail. But if he hadn’t completed the ticket record yet, maybe I could weasel out of it?
*****
It’s not like me to run from responsibility (in this situation, i’m 100% guilty). And I’m trying to figure out why I broke character so quickly…
As much as I want to blame the rude guy, the bad timing, my busy workload yesterday, or a number of other things, there is actually no excuse for me to be rude. Ever.
Matching negativity with more negativity is a lose/lose situation. The only way to break the cycle is to respond to negativity with positivity.
So here is my lesson learned, and challenge for you today… When you come across something negative, a sad person or an angry situation, try your best to muster up as much positivity as you can. Don’t break your character —> instead, share your awesome character with others and rub some of your positivity off on people.
Forever learning,
– Joel
**More I am an idiot stories here**
A response to yesterday’s message, “That was so good I wrote on my sticky note and stuck it beside where I sleep.”
**Featured image by Caspar Rae