There will be at least 1 in many teams. You know, the one who will say something that will totally spoil the mood. I call them the Black Hatters.
I have to admit, sometimes I am that Joy Killer too. But not because I am a Black Hatter. It probably something lame like I woke up at the wrong side of the bed or having a terrible hangover. And many times, it ended up I had to return to the group & apologize for my poor behavior.
So how to manage this better? These are some things I do when I do remember how:
One. Retail therapy is real. Doesn’t need to be something expensive. When the office is open, I just walk to Pavi to go buy something to make me happy. Food normally does the trick.
One-a. Since office is not open because we are non-essential services, I just go to one of those online platform, it so convenient now. Grab also does the trick for me.
Two. Literally walk away. Take a walk to somewhere, preferably somewhere with fresh air. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 Breath in…. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 Breath out… for many researches have shown that breathing exercise reduces tension.
Two-a. If it’s a virtual call, muting my microphone does the trick as well instead of walking away.
Three. Talk to someone. And of course don’t go look for another Black Hatter – we don’t want to feel worse than what we are feeling already. I call this my Below-The-Line (BTL) moment where I can just let it out and not being judged. If you don’t have this person in your life. it would be wise to start to recruit one.
Four. Ice cream. Jamoca Almond Fudge preferably.
Then you may ask, what about how to manage these Kill-Joyers then? Aaaahhh…. (breath in, breath out) 3 words – Ignorance is Bliss.
Bimbo
