Learning from Annoying People

It is pretty obvious that we all learn from people we love. Starting with our parents, we learn all kinds of things from people who care about us and who we want to emulate.

Sometimes we also learn things we do NOT want to emulate. Not only am I a nonsmoker because my mom smoked, but I've learned all kinds of things from being around behaviors I dislike.

As I approach 50, I am amazed at how much I also learn about myself from seeing other people act like me -- and not in a good way. How often do we all think "Wow, that person is SO annoying!" If we really think about it, many of the traits we find annoying in other people are things that WE do ourselves!

This is not a totally new concept to me, but I thought about it recently. There was a person who was absolutely driving me nuts! I won't go into detail how this person was driving me nuts, but let's just say it was getting pretty bad. I was just about at my breaking point and was seriously thinking about how to approach it. Somehow that led to my thinking about the motivation on the part of the annoying person.

It was thinking about motivation that caused the "ah ha" moment for me. Suddenly it dawned on me that the things that were so annoying me are things I do! In fact, many of the things that other people do that bug me are also things I do! How do my friends stand me! (Obviously, they are much more patient than I am. I really dislike impatient people.)

The good news is, I'm only 49 -- I have plenty of time to work on these things and actively be less annoying. So the next time you are in the seat ahead of me on a plane, you should notice my being more considerate with my tray. And if you are driving in the car behind me, I'll be driving no slower than the speed limit and using my turn signals. And you will NOT find me talking on the phone while standing in line to buy something (tickets to a museum maybe?).

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it!