That Was Then, This Is Now

 I've noticed that there  are certain personal traits  that can prevent me from living life on life's terms: thoughts that become words; words that become actions; actions that become habits; habits that shape character, character that determines  destiny.

Along with the 17 jobs that lasted 6 months to 6 years.  the 7 layoffs that lasted 3 to 11 months taught me a (somewhat) pragmatic  approach  to work as expressed by these  rules:

"Nothing personal, just business". Although managers  may say that they value me and my contributions, anyone is expendable if the bottom line takes a nosedive.

"If the boss says jump, ask how high." Either my words and actions have a positive impact on the bottom line, or I'm being added to the list of the next to be let go (this follows the "one finger points   out, three fingers point back" rule).

"Little changes now prepare me for the big change later".  Either I adapt as change inevitably happens, or I resist change and (eventually) get added to that list of the next to be let go.

I recall an incident over 10 years ago that serves as a constant reminder of how much my character has changed (and how much it has stayed the same).  I once watched a younger colleague--who looked much like me when I graduated from college -- act much like me when I graduated from college. This younger colleague berated another during work hours for being incompetent and wasting his precious time in a very public setting (well, there really is no privacy when you work in cubicles). The younger  colleague was let go shortly  afterwards.

While I was shocked at the poor manners of my younger colleague,  I realized  how my own  words and actions could  put me on the list of those to be let go next (or the infamous "sh-t list"). You see, I could  be  the most talented and accomplished  employee on paper, but  I also could be expendable  simply because I was unbearable.  Like my younger  colleague, my  bosses and colleagues may have put up with me, perhaps out of equal doses of empathy and pragmatism, only to be confronted with restlessness, irritability, and discontent.