Monday was a new day at work. I work from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. It's really early especially if you run to work, which I do. It's about 6.5 miles one-way and it's great running to and from work. Up until Monday I had been listening in on calls. It was helpful because in my training the previous week we didn't go over what it would be like to deal with merchants from the U.K. There's not a whole lot different, but there are different standards and requirements.
I finally got on the phones and received my first few calls. My supervisor wasn't there because he was sick, so another supervisor was helping me out. The lady was Canadian living in the U.K. and it was, in my opinion, a great call especially for a first call. I hung up and then I got an ear-full...
"Good call but don't do this and don't do that and stick to the..." It was like he had totally looked past the positive/good things I had done and immediately jumped in to the things I had done wrong. The only thing he said that was good was the fist two words out of his mouth: "Good call." Now some of you would say, 'What's wrong with that?' Well, let me tell you, that's not how you give feedback.
Unless you want the person with whom you're talking to close up, become defensive and not really listen to you then go ahead--that's a perfect way to give feedback.
I started feeling anger, defense, and not even wanting to continue listening. Luckily I caught myself int he act and tried to be understanding but it was hard.
In that moment I learned that negative emotions can damage you. They can have a physical effect on you and bit by bit negative emotions can break you down.
The flip-side is true too. Positive emotions can heal. They can take you to new levels you normally would not have been able to achieve. They free you from emotional and physical bondage. I don't know if that makes sense, but we must release negative emotions, forgive, forget (to the best of our ability) and move on. Nothing good can ever come from harboring negative emotions. Only bad can happen.
If you find yourself in a rut. If you find your progress is being hindered. If you find that you are trying so hard to excel and SOMETHING is holding you back, chances are you have an unresolved emotional issue.
Yesterday my supervisor finally showed up. Still sick, but present and ready to help. He listened to several of my calls and after a couple I heard about 5-7 positive things and then some constructive feedback for what I could do better. It was like a breath of fresh air. It was inspiring, motivating and made me want to keep being successful and improve.
Something I didn't say was that at the end of my Monday shift (which, yes, was a holiday unless your main customers live in the U.K. and then you don't get a holiday completely) I took that supervisor aside and gave him feedback. I learned that he had pulled an all-nighter and had been up for 24 hours. I told him how grateful I was for his help because really I am/was grateful for his help. Then I expressed my concern and he took it very well. I was free and I felt so good.
I know for a fact of all facts that this will help you with ANY THING you are doing or will ever do. Some great resources for learning more about these principles is http://www.eftuniverse.com/ and the book Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol K. Truman.
Anyways, for me forgiveness, love and letting go of emotional issues is how I have learned to run, live and be fearless. I still have a lot to learn and I'm not 100% fearless, but I'm getting there. Run fearless.
Perfect place for a certain guest blogger. :-)
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