I'M COOL…

"No," she said, "I really don't have to push back when people are rude…"

She was talking about an episode with a waiter, after all, no one crucial to her life…

Later that day, her daughter said something annoying and she bit her head off…

Of course, the second event had nothing to do with the first one, right?

WRONG!

What do ya say?

Do you get the connections?

TONGUE 'N CHEEK

So, there's push back and then there's T'nC pushback - the old 'kill them with kindness' variety.

Here's a perfect example…

Jury duty:  

The officer in charge of the jury pool was harsh and rude!  A typical bully, warning all perspective jurors of dire consequences if they so much as stepped into the bathroom at the wrong time!  

Yikes!

Instead of finishing the day feeling abused by the constantly scolding voice, one of the 'poolies' walked up to that abusive official and thanked him profusely for his service, kindness and courtesy. 

The officer's confusion, surprise and stuttered 'thank you' made all of us feel waaay better…

What do ya say?

Ever try this one?

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - NO, I WON'T!

Words and how we use them are so important.

For instance, the word 'should' can be highly toxic!

Ever notice, how, when someone 'shoulds' you, your reaction is often of the knee-jerk variety?

"You should do x" almost always yields y!

And "You should not do x" almost always makes x irresistible.

'Should' no matter how well intended is a Bully word and most of us do not react well to being bullied!

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS                           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

"Up yours," I screamed as I shot myself in the foot…

Sound familiar?

How many times do you think you have harmed yourself by reacting rebelliously to bullying?

Think about all the times someone has scolded you about what you are doing.  What were they complaining about? 

Did the 'problem' get better or worse?

I TRIED, REALLY …

Once upon a time there was a very sweet and well intentioned little girl.  Her parents believed children should do chores, so after dinner she washed the dishes.

I bet you think she was rewarded, right?

Nope.

Her mother pointed out all the spots the little girl missed on those nasty pots…

So the little girl tried again.

This time she got all the pots… BUT…

Her mother pointed out all the spots the little girl missed on the plates…

Can you guessed what happened next time?

If you figured out that the little girl dropped and broke more dishes than she cleaned you got it right…

And guess what?

That mother told the little girl that she was no longer allowed to wash the dishes…

AWWW… TOO BAD!

Now of course, the important thing about this story is the take away.

Can you guess what it is?

What do ya say?

Do you ever find yourself pushing back by breaking a metaphorical dish or two?