Unhappy? Blame yourself!
Radio stations are great places to observe human behavior. Maybe it's because personalities tend to be exaggerated in this business, or maybe they're just more on display. Whatever the reason, I've noticed a few things over the past two decades. And one is that there seems to be a correlation between personal happiness and personal responsibility.
(Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist, but I did drive by a Holiday Inn Express last night!)
In looking at my coworkers, both past and present, it's pretty easy to determine which ones are intrinsically happy and which ones are miserable. And the ones that are happy are the ones who don't blame others for their problems. They take responsibility for their own mistakes, correct them, and move on. They take life's curveballs in stride, and move on. They take a moment to enjoy the successes and triumphs, and move on.
The unhappy ones never move on. They blame all their problems on the world, their last program director (or current one), their ex-spouse, the government, big business -- anyone but themselves. Case in point: one guy had a flat tire on his truck this morning. It had a screw in it. He just said" Damn, I must have driven over a screw," then put some air in it and went to get it fixed. And smiled the whole time.
Another person on staff would have gone into a tirade about thoughtless people throwing screws on the road, and the damned city should do a better job of cleaning the streets, and why can't they make tires that don't go flat and on and on and on, until everyone around him was just as miserable as he is.
Just accept the fact that sometimes there are screws in the street and sometimes you run over them. That's life! And sometimes life "screws" you!
Unhappy people also tend to ignore the consequences of their own decisions. This is a fairly stable radio station (fairly stable???? Hell, the format hasn't changed in thirty years!) Some people I've hired have cited that stability as a reason they want to work here, especially if they've been through a corporate buy-out or a sudden format change. And then, after a year or so, all they can do is complain that nothing ever changes. Dude! You knew that when you applied here. You knew that when you took the job. Don't bitch that the job isn't what you wanted...its the same job it was when you took it!!!!!
Happy people, on the other hand, accept the consequences of those same decisions. Nothing changes? Hey, at least they know what to expect each day. Don't make enough money (who does?) They knew that when they took the job, and at least they get to do something they love everyday. Market not the biggest? Yeah, but at least everyone in the market knows their name.
I don't know the "cause/effect" of the correlation. Does personal responsbility cause personal happiness? Or are the basically happy just more likely to take responsibility for their lives? I'll leave that one up to someone with a government grant.
One final note: unhappy people are difficult to be around, so they tend to flock together while the rest of us avoid them. That way their mutual tales of woe can feed their collective belief that the world is against them.
So are you happy? And who ya' gonna blame?
(Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist, but I did drive by a Holiday Inn Express last night!)
In looking at my coworkers, both past and present, it's pretty easy to determine which ones are intrinsically happy and which ones are miserable. And the ones that are happy are the ones who don't blame others for their problems. They take responsibility for their own mistakes, correct them, and move on. They take life's curveballs in stride, and move on. They take a moment to enjoy the successes and triumphs, and move on.
The unhappy ones never move on. They blame all their problems on the world, their last program director (or current one), their ex-spouse, the government, big business -- anyone but themselves. Case in point: one guy had a flat tire on his truck this morning. It had a screw in it. He just said" Damn, I must have driven over a screw," then put some air in it and went to get it fixed. And smiled the whole time.
Another person on staff would have gone into a tirade about thoughtless people throwing screws on the road, and the damned city should do a better job of cleaning the streets, and why can't they make tires that don't go flat and on and on and on, until everyone around him was just as miserable as he is.
Just accept the fact that sometimes there are screws in the street and sometimes you run over them. That's life! And sometimes life "screws" you!
Unhappy people also tend to ignore the consequences of their own decisions. This is a fairly stable radio station (fairly stable???? Hell, the format hasn't changed in thirty years!) Some people I've hired have cited that stability as a reason they want to work here, especially if they've been through a corporate buy-out or a sudden format change. And then, after a year or so, all they can do is complain that nothing ever changes. Dude! You knew that when you applied here. You knew that when you took the job. Don't bitch that the job isn't what you wanted...its the same job it was when you took it!!!!!
Happy people, on the other hand, accept the consequences of those same decisions. Nothing changes? Hey, at least they know what to expect each day. Don't make enough money (who does?) They knew that when they took the job, and at least they get to do something they love everyday. Market not the biggest? Yeah, but at least everyone in the market knows their name.
I don't know the "cause/effect" of the correlation. Does personal responsbility cause personal happiness? Or are the basically happy just more likely to take responsibility for their lives? I'll leave that one up to someone with a government grant.
One final note: unhappy people are difficult to be around, so they tend to flock together while the rest of us avoid them. That way their mutual tales of woe can feed their collective belief that the world is against them.
So are you happy? And who ya' gonna blame?
posted by Just Some Guy on the Radio at 11:31 AM
1 Comments:
Could NOT have said it better myself. Damn,it has never been easy, but it sure has been a lot of fun. It's not the destination, the journey IS the destination. You have a cool gig, BB. I know you enjoy it. I chose the roller coaster over the merry go round. The rollercoaster sure has it's ups and downs but it is more fun. Something to be said about going round in circles, though. Stability..ah, what's that?
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