Changing Room

The other day, as I announced another positive change I was making in my life, WG looked at me and said the following:

I find this fascinating. I have changed one thing about myself, and you're always working on changing something. When I was a high school freshman, I figured out that no one responded to the shy guy, so I changed. And that's the last time I've actively tried to change something about myself.

Well, that's true, and WG is gregarious (one of my favorite words, by the way) and outgoing to the max. He can make a friend in any crowd. So, his change paid a big dividend. Heck, the guy's got over 400 friends on Facebook, and he knows them all.

We're two very different people, though, and I don't think I'll ever be 100% satisfied with myself. Change happens in my life on a regular basis, and I am more or less okay with that by now.

I've noticed over the past several weeks that I've felt less and less cranky about my job. There's the partial explanation of coming to accept that God has got me on this path for a reason, but the realization of the other explanation took me by surprise earlier this week.

Other changes I've decided to announce (because when I tell them to just myself, they rarely last more than a week):

Leaving for work five minutes earlier (this includes coming back to work from my lunch break

Mentioning schedule concerns only when there is a true conflict, not just when I feel unjustly assigned

Not engaging in workplace whining...this may be the hardest to adapt into my routine

Leaving the building for at least one of my two daily breaks

And finally, when I first requested The Girls' Guide to Kicking Your Career Into Gear from the library, I was in the midst of my, "I need a new career" panic. By the time I sat down to actually read the thing, I realized that I don't want to kick a brand new career into gear. No, no, I want to work on actually turning my budding career into something that matters. For those of you trying to start, build or change your career, I highly recommend this book as a way to get motivated.

After flipping through the book, I think the biggest over-arching change is for me to be more mature about my job and the way I act when I'm there.

It is without regret that I step aside from my whining, complaining, irritating, irritated self.

And I have all of you to hold me accountable.