(OCCASIONALLY) FEELING (JUST A LITTLE) SORRY FOR YOURSELF IS OK

"My general attitude to life is to enjoy every minute of every day. I never do anything with a feeling of, 'Oh God, I've got to do this today.'"

Richard Branson, English businessman/investor

Never?

I'd like to believe Sir Richard on this but I don't.

If I did he would be like no human being I've ever known.

There are plenty of things we all must do we really, really don't want to do.

Allow yourself a quiet, brief pity party as you do yours, you've earned it.

But do make it brief.

YOU LOSE, PERIOD, WHEN YOU LOSE CONTROL

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."

Mark Twain, 19th century American author/humorist

Not sure how this might apply to you?

If not you might have a much bigger anger management problem than you think.

EXCUSE ME, PLEASE CONSIDER THIS IS YOU HAVE A MOMENT

"Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business."

P.T. Barnum 19th century American showman/businessman

The least invested and not just in business.

We all could and should be so much more civil in all aspects of our lives.

Check your anger, you will get back what you give.

I THINK SO

"No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) Greek philosopher.

And only the truly mad, those who think themselves to be only genius, would think otherwise.

What do you think?

YOU SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT THIS

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned."

Buddha (563 BC-483 BC) Founder of Buddhism.

What good has your anger done for you?

You don't consciously decide to become angry but you can work to lessen the negative from being so.

NOR DWELL ON THEM

"Never repeat old grievances."

Proverb

There is a fine but important line between remembering and dwelling on past injustices done to you.

Do your best not to cross it.

IT MAKES ME ANGRY I DIDN'T LEARN THIS SOONER!

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

Chinese proverb

In some cases way, way more than a hundred days.

Irrational anger, even rational anger allowed to go too far, can affect you for years to come.

Possibly the rest of your life.

IT'S ON (ME) YOU!

"Weakness on both sides is the motto of all quarrels."

Voltaire 

18th century French writer/historian

As easy as as this is to understand it is that difficult not to be guilty of in practice.

I'LL (NEVER?) FORGIVE YOU!

"Like fragile ice anger passes away in time."

Ovid 

1st century BC Roman poet

Or should.

If you're still nursing a grudge, if not outright anger, towards someone else, to what end?

Doing so is childish.

HITTING "SEND"

"There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one."

Baltasar Gracian

17th century Spanish philosopher/writer

I can think of no better reminder in this day of what passes for mass "communication".

And all too often because we will anonymously type what we do not have the courage to say in person.

SO, WE MEET AGAIN!

"We only part to meet again."

John Gay

17th century English poet and dramatist

Even when you neither want nor expect to.

Be careful what you say when leaving one company for another.

Your parting words could come back to haunt you.

The world is a small place.

It Just Pisses Me Off When I Lose Mine!

"The happiness and misery of men relies no less on temper than on fortune."

François de La Rochefoucauld

17th century French writer

Temper

The one thing in business you cannot afford to lose.

Temperamental Losses

"A person's fate is their own temper."

Benjamin Disraeli

19th century British politician/author

And how much, how often you lose it will determine how much else you lose.

I'm Outraged!

"Exaggerated sensitiveness is an expression of the feeling of inferiority."

Arthur Adler

Late 19th/early 20th century Austrian medical doctor

Mind you, not being sensitized, only being overly so.

And not just for sensitiveness; when it comes to business it's a good idea to moderate all your emotions.

Your Reputation Precedes You

"The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour."

Unknown

We do more remember the bad than the good.

Think before you act and speak.

In The Extreme

"Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones, but by contrary extreme positions."

Frederich Nietzsche

19th century German-Swiss philosopher

Do you want to neutralize the extreme positions of a co-worker?

Begin by neutralizing your own.

Tough Love?

"Tiger father begets tiger son."

Chinese proverb

What affect does "tiger" management have on employees?

What Were You Thinking?

"Among mortals second thoughts are wisest."

Epictetus

1st century Greek philosopher

I realize some don't see themselves as mortals but for the rest of us who do . . .

Think twice, speak once.

Patience Now, Fewer Regrets Later

"If you are patient in moments of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow."

Chinese proverb

Not unexpectedly, a proverb coming from a people noted for their reflective serenity.

Now, if I could only learn how to do this more often. 

You Can't Please Everyone All The Time

"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."

Elbert Hubbard
19th century American editor/author

Said another way, you can't make an omelette if you don't break an egg.

I've never known anyone in business worth anything who did not, multiple times, offend others.

How are you when it comes to alienating a few to a lot of people based on what you say and do?