Expectations

This post has been brewing for a few days as I have not had time lately to write.  Between everything we have had going on and I am trying to fight off my annual late October cold, it just hasn't made it out of my head.

Listening to myself talk the other day,  I noticed another element that directly impacts my reaction and tone. That is my expectation of said events.  One of the reasons for my work related frustrated tone is my expectation of my co-workers or just others that I interact with on a daily basis.  I personally think it is not unreasonable to have such high expectations, however, how I react when they are not met probably needs some adjusting.

It really amazes me at what I think someone should be fired for and what actually gets someone fired.  If I were the owner/boss, I would probably have a very lean workforce.  What I tend to find myself in is a mindset that if it is A) elementary level cognitive skills, a grown adult should possess that skill.  B) If this is a job that someone has done for a long time, they should know how to do it. C)If they have been shown or the directions on how to do it are readily available, they should be able to figure it out.  Finally, D) If your company provides a certain product or service you should actually understand or be able to source all that the service or product entails.

All of those things help drive me to be a good employee, however, when I work with someone that does not meet those, I tend to lose patience very easy.  This is the part I have to work on.  How can I go about expressing my displeasure or working through the issue without sounding like a jerk?  This, I have not mastered.  It is something that even now is an issue for me.  This is something that I can apply the Gospel to. I should have a deep appreciation for the Grace God has shown me all the times I have done things I knew I shouldn't have and made the same mistakes over and over no matter how many times I had "learned my lesson".  Acting the way I do above puts me in a really lousy position.  I freely accept God's Grace for me, however, I believe I am above that standard when someone else makes what I feel to be a dumb or lazy mistake.

It goes the same for the way I treat Amy, and down the road, the girls.  Right now, the girls get a pass on most things because they are only 2 and 3 1/2, but as they get older and start to make the same mistakes over and over, how am I going to react?  Hopefully by then, God will grow me so that I will make fewer jerkish comments and more grace filled comments.

Not a lot to go on with this thought, other than recognizing I do this and needing to add it to my mental checklist before words leave my mouth.  Hopefully in the next day or two, I am going to be able to listen to more of my recordings and get a feel for how I really sound to others on the phone.  Most of what I wrote about tonight is how my minds ear hears it, so if it is like other conversations, it will probably be an eye opener.


Josh