I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to take a full breath in and out before you reply to others.
I used to respond quickly, sometimes even talking over others. I don’t know that I did this more with women than men, but I’ve tried to be more aware of this. Everyone deserves respect, but more importantly, I ought to be sure I listen more to others and hear what they are saying.
Recently I got a few messages across Slack while on holiday. I didn’t really check them until I returned, and even then, I interpreted them one way. I got a meeting request later that implied I had committed to something in Slack, which I didn’t think was correct.
It would have been easy to start complaining and get upset. Or just decline the meeting and refuse to do something. Instead, I took a deep breath, let go of annoyances, and responded in a positive manner. The other person wasn’t trying to be difficult, and as part of being more reasonable and understanding, I tried to remember that.