Don’t Shoot The Messenger

Have you ever heard the old saying, “Don’t Shoot the Messenger”? So many times we have a tendency to react to people when they have the unfortunate job of bringing bad news.
Let me paint a picture for you! Quite some time ago I was at a Lexus dealership where I worked as a technician for several years. We had just moved all of our mechanical equipment into a brand new, state-of-the-art repair shop building. A couple of months later, we received word that they were going to paint the floor of our new shop at the end of the week.
When we got to work that Friday we spent all day moving heavy equipment, auto parts, tools, etc. out of the shop so the painters could come in and paint. We worked on this all morning and straight through to the afternoon. None of us stopped for lunch, because we knew that when we were done, we would be able to go home for the rest of the day. Well about 10 minutes after we finished, our boss walked out and said, “The painters called and said that the moisture content in the floor is too high, and they won’t be able to paint. Move everything back into the shop.” Now, here is one of those situations in life where I could either respond reactively, or proactively.
Suppose I had responded reactively and I had start yelling, cursing and going on about what a rip-off it was. What if I had really let my boss have it? What do you think would happen? Well, first off all, he was my boss, so he could have fired me. Even if that didn”t happen, he would, probably. have reacted in the same way I had. That would have caused a big fight that would have resulted in hurt feelings and damaged relationships. You know what else? After all that, the floor still wouldn’t get painted! All the equipment would STILL need to be moved back.
You see, here at Front Porch Attitude, we believe there is a better, or HIGHER, way to respond to the things life brings our way. We believe that it is possible to stay cool, calm and collected! We believe that you should keep your head up and enjoy life no matter what it tosses our way. How do we know it’s possible? Because of the story I just told you. Because of the way I responded to the situation. While other employees were cussing, screaming, ranting and raving, I was enjoying life and I was living life as it was meant to be lived! Was I happy that I had to move all the equipment back again? Of course not! But I understood that all of that was out of my control. What WAS in my control, however, was how I treated the messenger. No relationships were hurt! No feelings were crushed! No fight ensued!
When you are faced with similar situations in life and you are tempted to respond reactively, just remember to do these three things:
Stop and look at the situation from the others person”s point of view. It’s possible that, if you were that other person, you just might have done the same thing that they did!
Remember, the messenger just delivered the message! He is not necessarily the one who created it!
Take the Higher Road. Sometimes, even though you have every right to be upset. DON”T! You are better than that.