Now, I will tell you that I myself would have probably taken the lady aside and, well let’s say be frank about her behavior. However, the young woman that she was assaulting was very hospitable to this cranky woman. So, I guess I have to practice what I preach also…..huh?
I was eating breakfast with my wonderful husband this morning, our regular Sunday ritual, when out of nowhere this 95 year old lady starts screaming and yelling about her order while standing in a line of 100 people. She was complaining that this was not right, that was mismatched and this was on the wrong plate….yhada…yhada….yhada!
In watching the older gal, I thought to myself, do we as a society have so little of patience that we are not obligated to be patience and respectful to others anymore? Do we live, or creating a society, that needs everything fast and furious, cheap and yet perfect at the expense of someones feelings?
Do we only have to rely on our own virtues barometer, which seem to be disappearing more and more, or are we obligated as a human race to be tolerant of even the most challenging of situations? Waiting for eggs does not register to me as a challenging situation, could you imagine this woman during a real crisis?
In business, we are obligated, in my opinion, to have patience, be respectful and tolerant of people and their quirkiness. For if we are not, we will struggle in business. I have had to deal with many, many instances where I had to exercise tolerance and patience even when I did not want to, or knew how to. I was impressed by this young woman’s ability to handle this type of tirade; she should run for some political office!
Moral of the story, have patience even when you do not feel like it. Be tolerant, and teach your kids these skills, for they are the future of the earth and business. Even if we do not have these skills in our internal virtues DNA, be obligated to practice patience and tolerance for a peaceful existence with one another!
Always Dream Big!
Kim Babjak
