It's the end of the day and I'm tired.
All I want to do is be home eating dinner.
Around 7 I call one of the floor Directors to get his help on something. I'll call him Matt.
In the recent past, there have been a couple of instances where we have both angered each other. Our relationship is not the best.
Without going into detail —as so often the details are irrelevant — Matt and I get into an argument and I behave badly. I react poorly. Perhaps overreact would be the better word. I turn my back and walk away as Matt is speaking. I shouldn't have. And I ignore him when he shouts for me to come back.
Even as it's happening, I am embarrassed by my own unprofessional behavior. Matt is insistent that we "talk now" and I am just as insistent that "it's late, and I want to go home."
In the end, I clock out and go to his office. We both air our concerns about the other. And it feels remarkably good. In the end, we agree to start over.
I come home and feel good and bad. Bad about how I acted. Good about our much-needed conversation.
The next day I come in and it's as if Matt and I are meeting for the first time.
I hope I can learn from this experience. Being right or not right is often not the issue. Getting along is. I know it's a cliche, but it's true. It's more productive, easier, nicer, and even healthier — no built up tension or smoldering anger. I think Matt and I are now on the road to building a strong relationship. I hope so.
It's a nice feeling to let things go. I'm not very good at it, but I'm trying.
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