A Special Bonus from Our Stability Project

There's a special bonus we can expect from our Stability Project. As opposed to the growing list of items the world has been throwing at all of us, in varying degrees, this is something that will be specific to each of us as individuals. We'll use personal experience to illustrate what we mean. 

The point here is that if we make an effort to create a calm, stable environment at work, it will help us to deal not only with those items we discussed last time, but also with personal matters that can also distract and disturb us while we're trying to concentrate on producing excellent work.

As for using personal examples, none of this will be a complaint or an appeal for sympathy. Frankly, I'm always reluctant to share my tough times with others, including family members. We all face these from time to time, some of us more than others. And as tough as these times may sometimes prove to be for me, I know others who have been dealing with far more difficult circumstances. With that in mind, here goes.

When the COVID mess took off in early 2020, we were just about a year from the sudden death of our oldest child. Those of you who may have lost a child - whether in a sudden unexpected way or due a disease like cancer - know exactly how devastated we were. And a year's worth of grieving barely had passed when COVID struck.

Like all of us, we suffered the general effects of fear of getting very sick, lock-downs that impacted our business, along with family members dealing with vaccine mandates. Like many of us, we were not able to get together with certain family members. Holiday gatherings were pared down quite a bit. We missed our loved ones. Worse, some of the older crew have never emerged from their fear of COVID. So, for example, I've not seen either of my brothers in person since early 2020. And others, while not quite as fearful, simply have in some way gotten used to not getting together. It's sad, and quite frustrating. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever see some of these dear ones again in this life.

One bright spot in all this has been a lack of hard feelings. While my views differ from certain loved ones regarding the safety and efficacy of the jabs, we've managed to avoid disagreements and harsh words. We simply refused to allow the controversy to drive us apart. Others have not been so fortunate.

However, as mentioned in our last post, some family members have suffered from serious, even potentially deadly diseases that might - and I emphasize might - have been the result of their having been vaccinated.

All of the above have horned their way into my work days, in varying degrees, at different times. It's been a real struggle to get on with the day's business in the face of it all.

What about you? Have you had personal matters, specific to your own situation, that have piled on to the general issues assaulting all of us, as discussed last time? How have you/are you dealing with these? 

A workplace that lacks calm and stability makes dealing with all this difficult, at times impossible. If you're an employee, you may not get much sympathy from your employer. And if you run your own business, your customers, clients, and employees need your full attention and efforts, no matter what's going on in your personal life.

A quick example: When our son died in 2019, I sent a brief email to all our clients explaining what had happened. I told them I'd be unavailable until after his burial. I received understanding and sympathy in return. I was - and am - blessed with such people who would allow me privacy, at least for a while. But good as our clients are, I realized that I could not wallow in sorrow to the detriment of the services they expected from us. (While I would have preferred learning this lesson in a different manner, wisdom comes to us in God's own way, in His good time.)

So after a week or so I was back at my desk full time. I sent an email to our clients telling them they need not be in any way tentative or self-conscious in their expectation that they would receive my full time and attention along with their accustomed excellent service. 

The fact is, we all have personal difficulties and distractions that, left unchecked, can undermine our efforts at work. My view is not to expect patience or understanding from employers, colleagues, customers and clients. If it's forthcoming I thank God for the generosity of such responses.

Having spent considerable time and effort in establishing a calm atmosphere and a well-organized business process, I can assure you these goes far when you have to bear personal difficulties, even tragedies. And we all do have to bear these.

Next time, we dive back into the Rule of St. Benedict. If you've got a more calm and stable workplace, you will almost certainly find ways to reinforce, perhaps even improve things. Of course, it your workplace leaves something to be desired, you will definitely find ways to set things aright.

Until next time.

Oh, and it's still kosher, I think, to wish you all a...

Happy New Year!