People come and go, and sometimes they show up again in your life. Be careful not to burn a bridge you may need down the road.

If you have spent much time in a particular industry, you tend to notice that certain people may move from one company to another, but if they stick around, you’ll see them again. It may be at a networking event or you may end up working with them again.  You just never know the path that others will take.

I recently ran into someone whom I had worked with many years ago. This person remembered me as a nice guy who always showed respect for others. It wasn’t necessarily that I went out of my way to show ‘extra’ respect to him; in fact, I don’t have as good a memory as he does about when we used to work together.  But the payoff of a good reputation is priceless and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing someone say nice things about me to others.

We all get tensed up from time to time.  It is hard to not be short or sharp with others, because in the more lazy moments of stress, we all are guilty sometimes of expecting others to forgive our rants and raves. It isn’t easy to keep one’s composure, but whenever someone from my past pays me a public compliment like that, I am reminded of just how easy it is to loose it and then have someone forever remember me for that instead of all those times I kept my cool and was enjoyable to be around.

Today I am reminding me that even if I am around someone who is irritating or frustrating, if I can keep my cool when others are losing theirs, it always pays off in a positive way.  Don’t burn a bridge you may need later. If you genuinely do not like working with someone, I get that, but it doesn’t mean  you have to write them off.  Maybe they don’t particularly like you all that much, either and there could be a gazillion reasons they behave the way they do.

One of my many lessons I continue to learn is that everyone is walking around with their own pathology, their own hangups and challenges and they are just trying to make the most of the day, just like you. Most issues can be dealt with without burning a bridge. Before you start to fire back on someone, remember they might just be the same people who circle around, find you and offer you a great opportunity.  It happens.

© 2017  Dave Ribble, Author & Coach

The Way of The Conscientious Connector

StandOut Marketing Strategies, A Promotional Marketing Consultancy

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