Many times in our lives we are put in situations where we have to deal with people from different walks of life. Ideally, we should never judge these people because we never know what their walk was like. However, on a day to day basis it is only natural to forget the skeletons of the past and just focus on the matter at hand. Here is a situation where the former ideology is made difficult. This is the story of an individual I have to work with.
This person is the pinnacle of negativity. He makes Darth Vader from Star Wars seem like Tinker Bell. Sometimes when I pass by him I get a chill from the coldness of the air around him. And do you know what baffles me the most? He acts like he cannot do anything about it.
He has been working at this institution for almost a decade now and unfortunately has never received a lump-sum end of year compensation (fancy lingo for an annual bonus). So, in a scenario such as this the individual with some shred of common sense would:
A) Change their attitude, work harder and make themselves and their achievements more visible to upper management so that they are remembered when bonus time comes around next year
B) Seek greener pastures elsewhere if that person feels they are being unfairly treated.
The decision? He decided to not commit to learning anything new. To not make the extra push or effort. On top of that he decided to be a total dick of a human being in general. The Archbishop of negativity. The nemesis of positive thought. The martyr for all those who hold a grudge. Add on to that an addiction to cigarettes and you get a pretty unhealthy outlook on life wouldn’t you say? Any comment is a negative one. Any story ends with someone getting hurt – comically or tragically.
Just the other day in the office he was sitting in his chair and I was typing away obliviously. “Jamil, Jamil”, his voice gruff and abrupt. The office was very peaceful and quiet.
“Don’t you just hate this shit?” he blurted out. Trying not to lose total focus from typing I peered from the corner of my eyes and asked calmly “hate what, buddy?" He continued, “this place, these people, the corporate mafia mentality, everyone fingering everyone else, akhh, blakhh, raaakhh! Don’t you just hate your life!?”
Now, despite how dire circumstances may be I prefer to adopt a positive spin on things. I always thought I had a fixed view when it came to matters of attitude and self-esteem but this guy was something else. Imagine you are a cliff and are constantly being bombarded by the treacherous waves from sea of dullness every day for over two years. Eventually, you’re going to crack! He remained there just looking at me. And I continued typing. And he remained there still intensely focused on the moment when I would give him an answer. I turned to him and he was just staring at me. He looked repulsed – the way someone would look after they had just swallowed a sandwich filled with poop and a lot of lemon juice. I thought about how almost every conversation initiated by this person revolved around a complaint, a quarrel, a twisted mind game, a friendly gesture with subliminal underpinnings or anything that just sucked in general. As I looked at his face which was now suspended in a state of disgust, I felt the sparks of life, benevolence and optimism fade away into the blackness of this human vortex. “Yes”, I replied. “Right now, I f****g hate my life.”
Turning back to my screen and brushing that cobweb of a conversation off my shoulders, I told myself 'this too shall pass'.
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