Certain spaces tend to cause my introverted self to become more, shall we say, pronounced. If I were to describe some characteristics of these spaces that I found most unpleasant to spend time in, a few things come to mind:
Does this sound like a gym to you?
Well, I have some news for you.
I must have missed the week at school when you learn about managing emotions and what it means to be emotionally intelligent – because I grew up being very confused about my emotions.
As an employee of an advertising agency, I consider myself fortunate to be able to work in a creative environment. Of course, my role isn’t all about creativity – like any job, mine has its fair share of repetitive tasks. But lucky for me, I am also part of tasks that engage the side of me that was born to think outside the box – or even find ways of getting creative while inside the box.
I come from the generation of workers who were told – by parents, teachers, career guidance counsellors, and Steve Jobs – that to achieve success professionally you must “follow your dreams and passions.” While this is a beautiful sentiment with good intentions, it fails to take an important disclaimer into consideration:
We can’t all have a dream job.
If you are anything like me, you’re always a bit taken aback when the phone rings. Why not send a text message? I catch myself thinking. It’s so much quicker, more efficient, and – most of all – it lacks the awkwardness inherent to telephone conversations (at least that’s how I feel about them).
While I always prefer a text message, I must admit that in many ways it’s an inferior form of communication. The text message is pure and simple text, completely devoid of the individual personality characteristics each of us brings to our communication styles in person or on the phone.
