Thursday, May 20, 2004

Unstuffing Our Emotions - From Christianity Today Cracking the Exterior - Another Great Consideration From Christianity Today Theme for the Week: Unstuffing Our Emotions Key Bible Verse: I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me (Psalm 69:29). Bonus Reading: Psalm 69:1-3, 13-18 A friend remarked to me, "You seem troubled. Is anything bothering you?" "Me? No, I'm fine." "You don't seem fine to me," he persisted. "You're acting like you might be depressed about something." "No, really. I'm fine. I guess I've just been a little pressured lately." The truth was, there was an issue that I urgently needed to talk with my father about, but was afraid to even bring up. So I just carried on as if everything were okay. Later, my friend again asked how things were going. This time, I got brave and told him. "I'm sorry about what happened," he said, "but I appreciate your honesty, and think it's great that you're doing something constructive with a difficult situation.' Soon I began confiding in this friend about other problems. He'd say something like, "Here's how I'd feel in your situation. I'd be angry because. Do you feel angry?"" Through the gracious work of the Spirit, I began to be honest with myself and with God. I experienced the pain I'd never allowed myself to feel. This was hardly pleasant, but acknowledging the hurt in my life was my first step toward relief. Bryan R. Salminen in No Ordinary Men My Response: To cultivate a friendship that goes deeper than surface facts, I need to?. Thought to Apply: The experience of the whole gamut of emotions is a part of the human condition, the inheritance of every man. John Powell (journalist, author) Adapted from: No Ordinary Men (Concordia, 2000) with permission. For your convenience, No Ordinary Men is available in the ChristianityToday.com bookstore. Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. September/October 2001, Vol. 4, No. 5 3:01:13 PM    comment []

Messing Up At Work - Excellent Considerations Messing Up at Work -  Great Considerations From Christianity Today! Theme of the Week: Nice Recovery!  Saturday, August 9 Q. What should I do when I goof up on the job? A. If we try to sweep our mistakes under the rug, eventually we'll trip over the lump and make matters worse. When we admit our shortcomings to our coworkers, we benefit in three ways. First, we lose our fear of looking bad. Everyone makes mistakes. We really only look bad when we try to cover them up. Coming clean takes all the pressure off. Second, we create opportunities to learn from our mistakes and avoid a repeat performance. When we're open about our errors, we can invite others to give us constructive input to help us learn and grow. And third, we gain the respect of coworkers. People usually know when we've messed up anyway, so why not admit it? We also need to admit our mistakes to our customers. Never ask your customer to bear the consequences of your mistake. Start with an apology, not an excuse. Ask how you can make amends, whether by refund, replacement, or a price adjustment. Most people will forgive an honest mistake, but dishonesty and excuses are reasons why customers leave. Then, identify one or two things you can learn from the experience. What went wrong? Do you need to adjust your plan or change course completely to avoid the problem in the future? Then follow through and implement any changes. If a customer is involved, share your commitment with him. We often learn more from our failures and disappointments than from our successes. Steve Marr, former import-export firm CEO, hosts the Business Proverbs radio show. Adapted from Business Proverbs (Revell, 2001) by permission. Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. July/August 2003, Vol. 6, No. 4 2:51:29 PM    comment []