Hello there!
How are you feeling today? I think I'm getting a cold, but still I'd have to say that my day has been going quite well. I woke up before my alarm even went off this morning. Usually the alarm goes off and I snooze at least twice before actually dragging myself out of bed. Then, I am always tempted to procrastinate getting ready for the day by starting with breakfast or email rather than jumping in the shower right away. The result is that I usually (ok, always) end up running late and rushing around at the last second to get out the door with enough time to get to work. I really don't like being late. I don't enjoy the stress that comes from running around the way I do. And I don't think anyone benefits from the frazzled disposition that sticks with me for a few hours after this morning episode, not to mention my crankiness when I get tired earlier in the day after not sleeping enough the night before. Do you have any similar episodes in your daily life that in some way hijack your disposition?
I came to learn a secret one day last December. I was flying a three day domestic trip that took me zigzagging all over the US, into and out of various storms that were afflicting the nation. We were dealing with weather delays, which meant dealing with cranky passengers. A Flight Attendant is commonly said to be "the face" of the company. This means that I represent my company more than, for example, the ramp agents or the dispatchers who rarely come in contact with passengers. This is a big responsibility because it means that, not only is it my job to be courteous and friendly to passengers but, it is also my job to listen to them while they voice their frustration, concerns, questions, anxiety, and sometimes even anger, without taking it personally or getting upset with them. Not only that, but I am expected to respond to these outbursts in a kind, reassuring, and helpful way, even if that is to refer them to our website so they can make a complaint about our airline. If you are thinking that this can be a challenge, you are right. If you are thinking that it would be even more difficult for me to handle these situations the right way when I am also tired and cranky, you have nailed it.
That takes me back to the trip I was mentioning. Amid dealing with all of the passenger concerns on a day when there were many, I got on the plane to work a flight from Atlanta to New York (probably one of the flights on which you'll find the most collective frustration at any given point). As the passengers started boarding and I tried to delude myself into thinking it could still be a good flight, the captain walked out of the flight deck and into my first class cabin. There, while I was making drinks in the galley, I heard him start chatting with my passengers. I imagine he was explaining the delay and that we would still make it to New York close to on-time. Then, I heard laughter. I peeked around and found that it was like a little club. The captain was joking around and the passengers enthusiastically responded to his sense of humor. Next, the captain went to the boarding door and started chatting and joking with passengers as they got on the plane and even made some announcements. He was hilarious, and he quickly became the life of the party. People all throughout the aircraft were laughing at his jokes and, because the captain said things in such a funny and good humored way, the passengers actually paid attention and cooperated with all of his requests. I couldn't believe it. Even I was smiling and laughing my way through the cabin.
I thought about that episode throughout the flight and even after the flight and realized that this captain did not allow the general mood on his airplane to get him down. He didn't even let it chase him into hiding in the flight deck (which he very well could have done and no one would have questioned him for). Rather, he brought his own positive outlook and good energy onto the plane and infected everyone around him with the same sense of fun. He put people at ease, which made the whole flight more pleasant for everyone. BINGO! That's what I had to do. I might not be funny in that stand-up comedian sort of way that he was, but I could be pleasant and smile and be bubbly. Sometimes it felt like my energy was sapped and that took some effort. But when I stopped to think, I realized that it takes much less effort to put on a smile and act as though everything is wonderful when you don't feel like it than it is to deal with a plane full of frustrated passengers pulling at you from every direction. Any effort that I put into my attitude would spread and make people more pleasant towards me. I decided that the results were well worth the effort.
So, here I am, months later, convinced that the technique works. I can honestly say that on days when I let the world affect my mood I have a far worse day than when I set out to be peppy and happy regardless of what is happening around me. I have better and worse days, but I strive to make my outlook as positive as possible. Sometimes I find people that are more like that old version of me, people that let things get to them, and I just try to be nice to them and happy around them and (if I can't make their mood better) just let their negativity slide right past me without infecting me. Attitude really is infectious, but it is also a skill. If you don't practice controlling your attitude, the world will dictate how you feel. The more you practice having a positive outlook (even when you're not convinced that it will work), the better you get at it.
Ultimately, since I started to think seriously and honestly about where I want to go in life and what would be fulfilling to me, I've had a tremendous spike in energy. However, I do have to give credit to my new approach of choosing to have a positive attitude for not allowing that spike in energy to be dampened when I encounter negativity around me. What are your experiences with attitude? Do you have a different technique that you use to keep the negativity that sometimes surrounds you from affecting your mood? Is there some other trigger that causes a shift in your mood? Please feel free to share. I'm fumbling around in this quest to find what makes me truly happy just as much as any of you might be. Through your comments we can all learn from each other.
Thanks for reading. Please post a comment!
Kim
How are you feeling today? I think I'm getting a cold, but still I'd have to say that my day has been going quite well. I woke up before my alarm even went off this morning. Usually the alarm goes off and I snooze at least twice before actually dragging myself out of bed. Then, I am always tempted to procrastinate getting ready for the day by starting with breakfast or email rather than jumping in the shower right away. The result is that I usually (ok, always) end up running late and rushing around at the last second to get out the door with enough time to get to work. I really don't like being late. I don't enjoy the stress that comes from running around the way I do. And I don't think anyone benefits from the frazzled disposition that sticks with me for a few hours after this morning episode, not to mention my crankiness when I get tired earlier in the day after not sleeping enough the night before. Do you have any similar episodes in your daily life that in some way hijack your disposition?
I came to learn a secret one day last December. I was flying a three day domestic trip that took me zigzagging all over the US, into and out of various storms that were afflicting the nation. We were dealing with weather delays, which meant dealing with cranky passengers. A Flight Attendant is commonly said to be "the face" of the company. This means that I represent my company more than, for example, the ramp agents or the dispatchers who rarely come in contact with passengers. This is a big responsibility because it means that, not only is it my job to be courteous and friendly to passengers but, it is also my job to listen to them while they voice their frustration, concerns, questions, anxiety, and sometimes even anger, without taking it personally or getting upset with them. Not only that, but I am expected to respond to these outbursts in a kind, reassuring, and helpful way, even if that is to refer them to our website so they can make a complaint about our airline. If you are thinking that this can be a challenge, you are right. If you are thinking that it would be even more difficult for me to handle these situations the right way when I am also tired and cranky, you have nailed it.
That takes me back to the trip I was mentioning. Amid dealing with all of the passenger concerns on a day when there were many, I got on the plane to work a flight from Atlanta to New York (probably one of the flights on which you'll find the most collective frustration at any given point). As the passengers started boarding and I tried to delude myself into thinking it could still be a good flight, the captain walked out of the flight deck and into my first class cabin. There, while I was making drinks in the galley, I heard him start chatting with my passengers. I imagine he was explaining the delay and that we would still make it to New York close to on-time. Then, I heard laughter. I peeked around and found that it was like a little club. The captain was joking around and the passengers enthusiastically responded to his sense of humor. Next, the captain went to the boarding door and started chatting and joking with passengers as they got on the plane and even made some announcements. He was hilarious, and he quickly became the life of the party. People all throughout the aircraft were laughing at his jokes and, because the captain said things in such a funny and good humored way, the passengers actually paid attention and cooperated with all of his requests. I couldn't believe it. Even I was smiling and laughing my way through the cabin.
I thought about that episode throughout the flight and even after the flight and realized that this captain did not allow the general mood on his airplane to get him down. He didn't even let it chase him into hiding in the flight deck (which he very well could have done and no one would have questioned him for). Rather, he brought his own positive outlook and good energy onto the plane and infected everyone around him with the same sense of fun. He put people at ease, which made the whole flight more pleasant for everyone. BINGO! That's what I had to do. I might not be funny in that stand-up comedian sort of way that he was, but I could be pleasant and smile and be bubbly. Sometimes it felt like my energy was sapped and that took some effort. But when I stopped to think, I realized that it takes much less effort to put on a smile and act as though everything is wonderful when you don't feel like it than it is to deal with a plane full of frustrated passengers pulling at you from every direction. Any effort that I put into my attitude would spread and make people more pleasant towards me. I decided that the results were well worth the effort.
So, here I am, months later, convinced that the technique works. I can honestly say that on days when I let the world affect my mood I have a far worse day than when I set out to be peppy and happy regardless of what is happening around me. I have better and worse days, but I strive to make my outlook as positive as possible. Sometimes I find people that are more like that old version of me, people that let things get to them, and I just try to be nice to them and happy around them and (if I can't make their mood better) just let their negativity slide right past me without infecting me. Attitude really is infectious, but it is also a skill. If you don't practice controlling your attitude, the world will dictate how you feel. The more you practice having a positive outlook (even when you're not convinced that it will work), the better you get at it.
Ultimately, since I started to think seriously and honestly about where I want to go in life and what would be fulfilling to me, I've had a tremendous spike in energy. However, I do have to give credit to my new approach of choosing to have a positive attitude for not allowing that spike in energy to be dampened when I encounter negativity around me. What are your experiences with attitude? Do you have a different technique that you use to keep the negativity that sometimes surrounds you from affecting your mood? Is there some other trigger that causes a shift in your mood? Please feel free to share. I'm fumbling around in this quest to find what makes me truly happy just as much as any of you might be. Through your comments we can all learn from each other.
Thanks for reading. Please post a comment!
Kim
2 comments:
I understand what you mean in your first paragraph-I once had an awesome roommate just like that!
I agree with your post. It's true that attitute is contagious and it's always better to have a positive one. :)
What a great post. It reminds me of a quote I saw once when waiting in line at a clothing store. The quote, on yellow paper behind the wall, said, "Life is 90% what you make of it." (I am paraphrasing a bit, because I forget what the quote said the other 10 percent was!)
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