Last Sunday I had a lunch with my college besties, on a beautiful patio on the most perfect fall day. My face hurt from laughing as I pulled out of the parking lot. I felt so loved and appreciated. On the way home, I had to run to Best Buy to pick up my new laptop.
As I waited in the pick up line, the person working at the regular check out told me he could help me. He looked annoyed with me said “people never think to come to the check out line to pick up online orders” to which I replied “well there is a big sign that says “pick up orders here” by that other area, so that’s probably why. He stopped typing and looked at me, disgusted, and said “You need to be a more creative thinker.”
I felt it happen right away. My shoulders went up. My jaw got tight. I was thinking of scathing things I could say back.
Then I caught myself, and I used two tools at once.
First, the Most Generous Interpretation. Maybe he’d just gotten yelled at by a customer. Maybe he just says what he thinks. I don't know his story. His behavior was cranky, but that doesn't make him a bad person, and it definitely doesn't have to make me one.
Second, my bubble. I pictured myself inside it, with my own mood in there with me, and his energy bouncing right off. I said to myself, "The energy in my bubble is peaceful and happy."
I walked out with the laptop AND the same mood I walked in with.
You know this moment. You're cruising along, having a good, productive day, when BOOM! You're dealing with:
A cranky TSA agent
Your stressed-out boss
Your surly teenager
A frustrated toddler yelling, "Me do it!"
And suddenly you're cranky, stressed, surly or frustrated yourself. You carry it into your next meeting. You snap at your kids at dinner.
Their mood is their choice. Yours is yours.
The bubble and MGI are some of the tools I teach my clients for getting from overwhelm to calm. Once you have a handful of these tools, other people's bad days stop running yours.
Picture getting home after a day full of cranky people and still having the energy to laugh at dinner. Imagine getting out of a tense meeting and going right back to the work you were doing, without replaying it for an hour. That's what it looks like when you keep your own mood.
The energy in my bubble today is grateful you're here.
PS If you want more tools like this one, and a group of women practicing them with you all year, my brand new program “The Overwhelm to Calm Club” opens on Black Friday. Join the waitlist here to be first in line and get the best price.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
“Every time you give an automatic 'yes', it just piles on top of everything else you're already doing.”
Being busy and being productive are not the same thing.
You can spend an entire day answering requests, beating yourself up, and reconsidering decisions without making much progress on the work that actually matters.
But you don't have to say yes to everything, believe every negative thought, or rethink every decision.
These three productivity killers can sneakily wreck your day without you ever being aware of them.
That's why Michelle's 300th episode of Overwhelmed Working Woman helps you recognize what's draining your productivity, what’s behind it, and how to fix it.
Listen now to discover what's stealing your productivity and how to find a little more room for the work and life that actually matter.
Check out episode 300 here: https://tinyurl.com/OWWPod.
“When you're already juggling work, family, and approximately 47 things nobody else seems to remember, the last thing you need is your own brain creating extra drama.”
The meaning we attach to someone's behavior can cause us just as much stress as the behavior itself.
Someone can be short with me without being a horrible person. A friend can cancel plans without secretly disliking me. A colleague can make a mistake without being completely incompetent.
And yes, sometimes people really are consistently inconsiderate. Sometimes boundaries are necessary. But not every disappointing interaction needs to become evidence that someone doesn't respect us, appreciate us, or care about us.
Sometimes, the story we're telling ourselves is making a difficult moment even harder. And when you're already juggling work, family, and approximately 47 things nobody else seems to remember, the last thing you need is your own brain creating extra drama.
In this replay of a favorite episode of Overwhelmed Working Woman, I explore how changing the way we interpret other people's behavior can help us feel calmer and more in control of our emotions, without pretending everything is fine or abandoning our boundaries.
We can't control how other people behave, but we don't have to let every interaction dictate how the rest of our day feels, either.
Listen to episode 301 here: https://tinyurl.com/OWWPod!
WORK WITH ME
1:1 Coaching Spot Open 📅
How do you want 2027 to go? Set up a free one-hour discovery session with me and we'll talk about your goals for the year (and beyond) and figure out how to get you there.
