Recommitted

So I was reading a comment my friend Fred posted on someone else's blog today and I felt bad because he said he would have a hard time finding six other people's blogs to refer to in his post (it's a complicated scenario - this is the best I can do).

So, I've decided to recommit myself to my blog. Just in case.

Here's today's theme: Being mean.

I work in healthcare and my job involves helping our employees feel good about their job. Here's all the ways working in the healthcare industry makes people not feel good:

• Low pay for people who work really hard
• A culture that allows (encourages, rewards) being mean to those above
• Patients who are sick or aging and don't feel well that are in a place they'd rather not be
• Family members who have unrealistic expectations and voice their complaints in unkind ways
• Family members who are truly grateful and recognize good care but keep it to themselves
  

O.k., there are others, but that's a good start.

I'm constantly amazed at the lengths people will go to when trying to make others feel bad. We really have belligerent people to deal with throughout our day and I just don't understand why people want to use up all that energy in such a harmful way. And to make it worse, the common language I hear at work involves phrases like "eat their young" and "throw under the bus" and we all act like that's normal.

Here's my commitment (besides promising to post in my blog more often) - I'm never going to let all that junk be normal. I'm swimming upstream as hard as I can and confronting the mean people and celebrating those wonderful, kind, gentle souls who make a marginal living in service to others. People who help people for a living are not treated like rock stars, but they should be. They make a greater contribution. If you know anyone who is a helper, say something nice to them - no one else probably has today. And expand that out: overtip your waitress, send some chocolates to your kids' teacher, change your mind about your presumptions of people who don't choose money as their first consideration in their career. And just be kind. Give people the benefit of the doubt.

O.k. - that's the sermon for today. I'll be back to my smart-ass self tomorrow.