I hope it doesn’t sound harsh, but it may be time for you to grow a backbone.
I thought about this the other day when a coworker of mine did not want to do shift set-up. At my summer job, an employee must do shift set-up in the first ten minutes of every shift. Everyone has to do it, so it isn’t that big of a deal. Sometimes, more than one employee will be scheduled for a shift, so you can split up the responsibilities between you to get it done faster. For the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that a few people dislike shift set-up and just want to get started, so they’ll ignore their responsibilities and let their fellow co-workers do all the work. Now, this obviously isn’t right, but unless something is said, one cannot complain.
It’s kind of like having a roommate who never cleans. Can you really be angry with them if you don’t let them know right from the start what you expect? Maybe they should already know that they have to pull their weight, but if you sit back and stay quiet, then things are just going to stay the same.
This is the situation I was in. In fact, I’ve found myself in this situation a lot. I have often preferred to remain the passive, polite girl rather than the girl who speaks her mind to get what she wants, or what she believes is right. This applies to many areas of my life, and I’m sure that it applies to you, as well. Isn’t it ridiculous, though? To be unhappy just so that people will like you?
So I said something. Nothing mean, nothing snarky, just “Hey, don’t forget your side of shift set-up,” and voila. That was it; I just needed to say something.
Now, I can’t help thinking about how many areas of my life could be improved if I just grew a backbone, swallowed my pride, and let myself live. What would happen if I told that special someone how I felt about them? What would happen if I stood up to that friend who doesn’t treat me the way I should be treated?
How could life open up for us if we chose to recognize how short life is and start saying what we want to say? It’s scary—boy, it’s scary—but so worth it.