I was at the beach a few weeks ago with my youngest son. We got there early and picked an unobstructed spot close to the prior day’s high tide line. We wanted to make sure that we were as close to the ocean as possible without having to move and that we could see each other and our stuff throughout the day. 30 minutes later, a loud and obnoxious family sat right in front of us. I could no longer clearly see my son in the water. I was then forced to listen to their club music, their whining son, and their loudly judgmental friend. In a short amount of time, I was getting angry and upset.
What happened to me? I started to become them. Instead of maintaining who I want to be, a cool calm and collected individual who is secure in who he is, solving problems and strong enough not to judge others, I started judging the people who were blocking my view and did nothing to solve the problem. At one point, the judgmental friend was going on about how she had to tell one of her friends that they needed to step up and parent their children. As know-it-all was saying this, a lifeguard was in the water rescuing her child. Did she do anything when she saw this… No, she did not correct the kid and give him parameters for safe swimming nor did she thank the lifeguard for saving her son’s life. At this point, I could almost excuse myself for being so judgy.
Some would say that they ruined my day. They did not. If I wanted to, I could have moved our chairs so that I would have a better sightline on my son and away from their music. I chose not to. The people who were in front of me did not influence my day. My mental reactions to them influenced my day. If I want to be the strong person that I talked about earlier, I cannot fall for this. Either move or ignore them. Judging them will not get you anywhere and ruin everyone’s day.
Every day is an Interview.
Everyday is an Interview 