Should It Bother Me That Much ?

Like many people, I enjoy reading and the feelings of motivation or inspiration a well-written article, story, or book can provide.  I subscribe to several different email groups and blog writers, reading their updates as often as I am able (usually during lunch breaks or if I'm feeling a lack of motivation).

One of the blogs I get email posts from a few times a week contains great wisdom and summarizes complex concepts in bite-sized chunks, making it very easy to read and apply in my own world.  Sadly, this same author constantly includes misspellings and grammatical errors.  So much so, that only a handful of hundreds of posts I have read were "error-free."

This has bothered me a great deal over the years, and in some cases has even kept me from being able to finish reading an otherwise impressive post.  I just find it too great a challenge to accept such great wisdom in the midst of basic writing mistakes.

At least, I used to.

If you've never heard the phrase "eat some of your own cooking" then allow me to explain the concept.  In business it means be a customer of your own product.  In relationships it means consider how you would feel if your partner did the same to you.  In all cases, it is a call to look at yourself and your actions before getting too judgemental of others' performance.

A few months ago I was feeling particularly irritated at another ruined post from this author, so I went to my blog to write about it.  I happened to click on a prior post of mine, rather than opening a new post to create.  And I noticed a glaring error!  (Wouldn't it have been funny if it had been a post about being a hypocrite?)  It wasn't.  In truth, the subject of the post is irrelevant, but the hypocrisy in my righteous indignation at this other writer was not.  I was immediately humbled and embarrassed.  I dug deeper and within minutes found a post with another error.  Oh the humanity!

After some time spent trying to justify why my insignificant little blog was exempt from judgements on this front, while his followed-by-hundreds-of-thousands-of-readers blog was not, my own cooking began to taste quite foul.  Every excuse I came up with for myself was just as valid, if not more so, for this other author.  And if I have any hope that people would still gain something from reading my posts, with or without any errors, I should certainly extend the same courtesy to this accomplished blogger.


Song Of The Day:
Some music has the ability to just make things chill.  You can listen to the soothing tones and relax.  One of these is "Breeze On By" which is an update by Donny Osmond on a classic George Benson standard.  I also think the name of this song is a reminder of what I should do when reading these blog posts in the future.  When I see the mistakes I'll be better off if I can just breeze on by them, rather than getting caught up in the details.  I hope any readers of my posts will do the same for me.  :)

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How Can I Make This More Obvious ?

I'm a talker.  Get me started and I can filibuster for hours (some say days, but let's be reasonable here people!)  It is just in my nature to have lots to say at any time.  I used to fret over this constantly.  It actually made the problem worse.  In my haste to say something with less words, I would feel the need to go back and fill in what I missed, which ended up taking even longer.

With that in mind, I am going to be blatantly hypocritical here.  I'm just mentioning that up front so no one can think I'm a talker and oblivious to my own hypocrisy.  :)

Why is it that some people just cannot take ANY hint that you try to give them when you just don't have time to listen to them right now?

I'd like to think that, while I talk a LOT, I am reasonably aware when someone doesn't have the time and I just need to go chat with someone else.  I try to pay attention to some of the more basic "I'm busy, can you come back another time" or "How long is this going to take?" signals that the average person just seems to know how to give:
 - tapping a pen or pencil
 - short or one-word responses (yeah, uh-huh, sure, hmmm)
 - multi-tasking right in front of you (checking email or the phone, etc.)
 - purposefully sounding distracted ('I'm sorry, what was that?' etc.)
 - looking at your watch or the clock on the wall
 - actually saying "Boy is it really that late already?!"

I have a few co-workers who just seem oblivious to these signals.  They are all great people and most of the time I enjoy spending 30-45 minutes conversing with them.  But sometimes, I only have so much time in that given day and it does not include any leeway for chit-chat.

Is there a better way, without being rude, to let someone know you just don't have time right now?  I could try to just say that very politely, but it never feels good.

Song Of The Day:
The often repeated line 'how am I going to get through?' is the reason I have chosen "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" by the Pet Shop Boys as the song for today.  I do NOT think I am being punished or anything by these non-readers of signals.  I just don't know how to get my message through to these individuals when I need to end our chit-chats.

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