alwayslookaround (and occasionally tell about it)

As I was waiting for the subway today, I overheard two people talking on the platform. One guy was telling his friend about some new coworker he has. He was explaining that she is a recent college graduate (from Cornell), and that she is very enthusiastic at work, excited, eager, and confident about making a difference in their workplace. The guy went on to explain that he loves when new people like that start at his company, because he likes to see how long it takes for them to loose their enthusiasm. He was laughing and smiling while he was explaining the story, genuinely enjoying his own bad attitude. It took all my strength to hold back from walking over and telling him that people like him are the reason some workplaces are a miserable atmosphere, and that he should do his company and coworkers a favor by quitting. But I didn’t, against my better judgment.

Look, I’m realistic, and I realize that some workplaces are “challenging”. If every workplace was a smooth operation, most people would love their jobs. But that’s not reality. And it’s not just a workplace thing, any situation can be challenging. Life is challenging, that’s the fact. There are always two, and only two, approaches you can take when facing a challenge: (1) attack it head on and try to turn it into something great, or (2) take a defeated attitude right from the start, and pretty much guarantee that you won’t make it into something better. It’s sad and unfortunate that MANY people take the second approach. If you find that you are in category #2, at least try to keep your pessimism and negative attitude to yourself. There’s no need to sit around and hope that those in category #1 will defect to your side. In fact, smarten up a little and try to learn a thing or two from the #1ers, rather than trying to infect them with your disease.

If you’re in category #3 (you started as a #1, but slowly converted to a #2), then walk away. You have overstayed your welcome. Go find something that you can be a #1 about again.

To the unknown recent Cornell graduate - I wish you the best of luck making the changes you envision. And hopefully you can get your miserable asshole coworker fired in the process.