A few comments that were made by colleagues in companies I worked for many years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind recently and inspired an article. At the time, I just accepted the remarks at face value; now, they seem more significant and to have a wider application.
I remember a time when a new IT manager was taken on. One of his first tasks was to go round to each workstation in turn and speed it up.
The boss said that he had no idea what had been done, but he wanted everyone to know how amazed and delighted he was with his workstation's performance after the upgrade.
The IT man told me that he was amazed to see what the workstation users had been living with for a long time in terms of a very slow service. He said that he had seen similar situations in his previous job and couldn't believe what people had been putting up with until he arrived to sort things out.
I have often felt amazed for similar reasons myself, and in many different scenarios. How can some people put up with what they are getting? How can they settle for so little? Do they not know how much better things could be? Probably not; Who having known the Diamond and all that.
Or maybe they are aware that what they have is of low quality, but assume that for them a better deal is unattainable.
It is always advisable to monitor what is out there and investigate the chances of moving on to something better. It is also a good idea to seek advice and assistance from someone more knowledgeable and experienced.
A memory that comes to mind in a similar connection is of a colleague who resisted wearing glasses for a long time - contact lenses were not an option for some reason. She finally bought some, and was amazed at how much clearer and stronger her vision was.
She told me that she wanted to cry when she realised how much better things could have been and how much she had been missing all this time.
I have often felt like this for many different reasons myself.
Such situations are doubly devastating: people suffer not only when they realise how short-changed they have been and that they have been settling for far too little, but also because they must admit that they have only themselves to blame. The solution was in their own hands all along: they could and should have moved on to better things a long time ago.
It is always advisable for people to look for areas in their lives where they are deprived or suffering because of being their own worst enemies and to find the courage to make the necessary improvements. There will be a price to pay in terms of regret for lost opportunities.
The IT man mentioned above told me that he had left his previous job because he had an idea that the company was in financial trouble. His colleagues wouldn't listen when he warned them, but he started to look for another job. He said that when his pay cheque came, he rushed down the road to pay it into his bank account. He was just in time: his colleagues' cheques bounced. They were forced to face reality; he had a good new job lined up.
It is always advisable to look out for and pay attention to warning signals of all kinds. It is also a good idea to get ahead of the game and make plans for various contingencies.
I remember a time when I tactfully suggested to a colleague that he subconsciously hated his manager. His reply: “There's nothing subconscious about it!”
At the time I thought that this was very funny; I now think that his awareness of and honesty about his feelings was a point in his favour: it is annoying and frustrating when people deny things that are obvious to others.
It is always advisable for people to be in touch with and admit to what they are feeling: subconscious negative emotions can do a lot of damage, and problems can't be dealt with unless and until they are brought out into the open.
I don't know why these commentary-inspiring remarks suddenly made their presence known; I wonder whether any more such comments or incidents from the past will come to mind.
This quotation is very relevant in these cases:
