Know Thy Self in the Workplace

It’s easy at times to get caught up with moving towards your goal – being promoted, getting the project, getting the raise – that you forget what you can and cannot tolerate. Most of us are patient when it comes to dealing with people and situations at work. We’re able to not say the 1st thing that comes to our minds and what our gut tells us should really be done, but even in that we have a limit. We have a level of tolerance that once reached can cause just about anything to happen, so one must truly know thy self in the workplace.

It doesn’t mean you have to walk away like a hermit or constantly chew gum to keep yourself level. What it does mean is we have to pay attention to the players that are in the circle around us. Maybe the project is a really good one to work on, but it would involve being around the complainer just a little too much. Sure you’d like to be a part of the “big presentation” but having to spend hours and hours poring over the person who can’t make a decision might be a “big headache”. Or how about the one in the office who doesn’t know what they are doing but wants to take over, being on one project with that person in a quarter is more than enough.

I’m not implying you would blow your top, grab someone by the shoulders and shake them hard, or run through the department screaming at the top of your lungs; nope, not implying that at all. What it may do is cause your responses to be short, your demeanor to be harsh and your interjections to be abrupt; not exactly the light you want to be seen in.

Knowing yourself doesn’t just apply to the world outside of your job, but the workplace world as well. You must know when you have mentally and emotionally reached your limit for some of the stirrings in the office and step away or remove yourself from the circle.