Earlier this week at work I was involved in an "incident" with an unhappy customer. (Incident is such a scary word...but it is the one we use to describe an out-of-the-ordinary, better-let-the-manager-know-about-this kind of happening at our library.) I'll spare you the details other than to say that the person was not very happy, and seemed to think I was rude to her. My guess is that her perception of me was not entirely accurate because she was already upset by other issues. However, all day today at work I was really aware of my words and vocal inflection and facial expressions and body language...I was a little concerned that someone else might get the wrong message from me if I wasn't careful.
Okay, I was being unreasonably paranoid about this, but it's been good to think about how easily I can be misread. A smile can seem like a smirk, a failure to respond to a routine greeting can appear to be disinterest or disdain, and who knows what people think when they see my furrowed brow as I am deep in concentration. Just the other day, a co-worker passed me on the way into work and said, "smile...it's Friday." Hadn't I been smiling? I was happy enough. Why did she think I wasn't? I guess my face just didn't have a natural smile that morning.
Now I know that I shouldn't be so concerned with what others think of me, but at the same time it does matter. If I am to "be Christ" to those around me, I have to become more aware of what message is being sent by my actions, words, and even my facial expressions and body language. It's good to think about these things and to really focus on being genuinely friendly to others...I just hope that I get over the paranoia soon.
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