March 5, 2017
11:30 pm
Beijing, China
Sorry, this is a really quick blog because I need to finish studying for my Chinese class tomorrow morning.
I want to talk about coworkers for a moment. There are many different types of people who end up working together in an office. Some see the glass as half full, while others see the glass as half empty, and yet others only see a glass of water. People have different senses of humor and different values. I believe the hardest disparity to deal with in the workplace is peoples’ goals within the job. Individuals set varying expectations for themselves, in both their personal and work lives. I am one of those people who sets very high standards for myself and I expect those standards to be met. While this can be good thing for myself, it tends to get me into a bit more trouble when interacting with other people. I’m not going to lie, one of my biggest faults is judging people. As a result, I have difficulty dealing with people who do not have similar goals as mine when they’re in similar situations. For example, in college, I didn’t not have a particularly high opinion of people who partied every night and showed up to class drunk, or didn’t show up at all. In my mind, school was about learning and preparing yourself for a career. Therefore, it was hard to appreciate people’s actions when it seemed like they were wasting their time and money. It just didn’t make sense to me.
I currently find myself in a similar situation at work. Not necessarily with the showing up drunk part, but the differing amount of effort we’re willing to put into work. Additionally, my ideas of proper workplace behavior seem to clash with some of my coworkers’. While I wish these differences were able to be easily overlooked, I’m having difficulty seeing past them. And, unfortunately, I don’t seem to be the only one struggling with the disparity. It’s part of what is causing the tension in our office.
That all said, I still do love my job. I enjoy working at my center and the environment at my school is, for the most part, upbeat, friendly, and fun. I love my kids and watching them learn is probably my favorite thing to witness. My coworkers are pretty great, too, even if we don’t always see eye to eye. There’s no one in the office that I dislike, although I may not always agree with their choices. At the gala, we watched a video of everyone saying what they love about BJ12 and many people mentioned that we were like a family. Families fight; they disagree and argue about decisions. Like a family, I may have disagreements with some of my coworkers, but I still love them and I wouldn’t pick any other school to work at.
Why am I writing this? Is it really appropriate to talk about the negative aspects of work? My answers to those questions point back to my first post on this blog: I promised to be honest. Being an adult is hard. These are issues that everyone will face in life. I just want to be honest and open about my struggles. Additionally, I want to ask for p—yers. This is an area where I am weak, and it’s causing problems. While I believe that my promise to refocus myself on Abba during Lent will help me with this, I also know the power of p—yer and accountability. So, if you could please take a short moment to p—y for patience and understanding, I would greatly appreciate it.
On that note, I want to invite you to let me know of anything you need p—yers for. While I know this isn’t the most popular blog in the world, I do have a platform to reach out to others. Additionally, if there is anything you would like me to p—y for, but have it kept personal, I am happily willing to do so. Abba can do all, but I also firmly believe that p—yer can help make amazing things happen. So, please, let me know if there’s anything I can be p—ying for you. You all know you’re welcome to leave a comment here or on Facebook, but you can also reach me by email at kristen@mckell.com. You can also iMessage me at kristenmckell@icloud.com or add me on WeChat (not that that’s really a thing in the States). My QR code is below.
Challenge: Day 7: Day 7 is a day of rest. Today, take a moment to reflect on how you have seen Abba work this week. Look at what He has done for you and thank Him. Now take a look at your struggles throughout this past week. Is there anything that sticks out to you? If so, p—y that Abba would help you work through this struggle in the coming days. P—y that He guides you in your decisions and helps you to choose the right path. Finally, I would encourage you to find someone to keep you accountable this week. Ask them to check in on you and help you grow and mature in how you deal with life’s ups and downs,
Talk soon,
Kristen
