It shouldn't
have to be said, but we all need to take some time to remind ourselves to not
be an asshole.
It's easy to
be an asshole. Say what's on your mind all the time, no filters, do whatever
you want and not care about the thoughts or feelings of others. Being an
asshole is liberating and there are times in life where it should be the
perfect option for what's on deck. Yet, some of us are too comfortable living
in this world and we find ourselves punching the asshole card way too often.
Today I am
picking up my niece for a week of fun in Texas. I fly up to Chicago, pick her
up and fly back with her to Texas all in one day. This morning I only got two
hours sleep prior to having to be at the airport at 5:30am. For some reason my
brain wouldn't switch off and I couldn't fall asleep. We've all been there. The
famous last words of "I'll get some sleep on the plane" seemed to
bring me some false comfort.
As I was
waiting for my section to get called up; a man dragging all of his stuff behind
him on his roller bag yelled "watch your toes" while zooming passed
me. I'd been sitting there for 10 min. I got to the airport early, like a smart
traveler, but this guy didn't say "excuse me" or "I'm
sorry", but instead shouted "watch your toes". Hearing this,
after only two hours sleep, made me think that this guy doesn't know how big of
an asshole he is. Put it on me to watch
out for him? I need to watch MY
toes? What about YOUR bag? Or YOUR
choice of words? Glad I got to the airport
when I was supposed to so my toes could meet up with the wheels on your roller
bag!
Once we
boarded, I realized I was seated across the aisle from this guy. Adding to his
already obvious asshole behavior, he proceeded to remove his shoes as he sat
down! Want more? Ok, it's now 6:30am and as everyone sat down,
fluffed their pillows and got ready to do what I was about to do-sleep. What
did this asshole do? Something that no
other person wanted to do on this plane-he opened the shade to let the sunlight
in. Oblivious to the world around him, a
plane full of sleepy passengers, 6:30am and this guy wants to absorb some
vitamin D.
Kiss. My.
Ass.
Perhaps he
has been an asshole his entire life and has no idea how to deviate from this
behavior? Like Steve Martin in the Jerk
or Jim Carey in pretty much every movie, he goes from moment to moment
constantly doing the most inappropriate thing,
Just oblivious to the real world while continuing to disregard any
feelings or concerns of others. Yes, his ignorance must be liberating, but I
can't imagine he lives a happy life filled with tolerant people that embrace
his inability to read a room.
The
#Tryharder lesson in all of this? (Besides
the fact that I should have tried harder to sleep the night before?) Be aware
that you may be the asshole in the room. Take inventory on the situations you
find yourself in and apply some energy towards being emotionally intelligent to
the immediate world around you.
I would
never suggest that you conform to the world, but certainly be aware that your
asshole behavior might not be tolerated by others and the guy that got his toes
rolled over might soon have his foot buried in your ass.
Pull your
head out of your ass before a foot joins it.
