What Just Happened?

This week I found myself asking myself “What just happened?!”  I had just finished raising my voice towards an employee.  That isn’t me.  That isn’t behavior I approve of or exhibit.  So what just happen?

I want to preface this with I’m overjoyed that I had the knowledge to recognize I was at the beginning of a very dark and onerous path.  One a lot of us go down thinking “this situation requires it.”  Let me help you out, there is never a situation that requires you to treat others unkindly.  Never.

“Never” seems like a powerful statement in a world where people can be idiots and/or jerks.  Here is the thing though, you (most likely) don’t want to be an idiot or a jerk.  And you will be once you creep from ‘just this time’ into the next time and next time…  BOOM, you’ve now got a new habit/behavior and BOOM you are now an idiot or jerk.  How does that work out for everybody?  Not good my friend, not good.

I great friend and amazing coach sent the following link which very appropriately timed I got this morning, http://zenhabits.net/conscious/ .  It addresses what I like to call “action creep”.  Actions that slowly creep into behaviors and habits.  Actions that also can turn us into a creep.

The path you go down will determine your destination.  This is to say, be very aware of the path(s) you pick daily.  And above all, don’t let FEAR of failure or confrontation bully you into becoming someone you know at your core you are not.