Wednesday, March 11, 2009

TwinSpeak: Mid week update on Why Not Monday's Challenge

It's Hump Wednesday which means we're half way through another week and we wanted to give you an update on how we are managing with what we resolved to achieve on 'Why Not Monday'.

Bella: My goal was to focus on the positive aspects of my job this week and not complain every time something doesn't go to plan. Whether it be when a client is being a bit more demanding than usual or if a job doesn't go to plan, it was my goal to take minute and focus on things that I should be grateful for.

The task is going well...but it's amazing how difficult it can be to change a mindset or habit. When I feel myself starting to go into a rant I have to take a conscious step back, take a breath and then reevaluate what I'm going to say. Once though I got the hang of it and started remembering my goal, it was actually very uplifting and relieving not focusing on the aspects which were only going to make me more aggro. It was like a weight was lifting. Once I told myself not to stress and to just relax...these things happen...I found it much easier to then get on with the job.


Frankie: So my challenge for "Why not Monday" is going moderately well. To ease myself into the scheme of things I decided to say "Hello" to one stranger each day for this week. I thought it would be nice to add a positive touch to my 'WNM'.

So, being on the third day of my challenge, I have had mixed reactions.

Day 1: As I pulled in to my local gas station on Monday morning I thought, why not start the 'Hellos' right now. The gas attendant came over to pump my gas and I automatically said 'Hi'. I realised though, that this wasn't much of a change to what I would normally do since it is common courtesy to greet your service attendant. I wasn't going to let myself off that easy. So, as I walked to the shop to pay for the gas, I said 'Hi' to another gas customer walking out of the store. He also greeted me with a 'Hello' and a nice smile. It felt kinda of nice being the person to spread a little bit of unexpected friendliness. Day One accomplished.

Day 2: Again, due to my limited social expeditions during work hours I was left with only a handful of places to venture to to say 'Hi'. As I walked to the small snack bar near my work, I passed the local mechanics and noticed one of the staff walking towards a car parked on the sidewalk waiting to be moved for service. As I passed him I chimed in a quick 'Hey'. From the look he gave me you would have thought I was some obsessive stalker. He grimaced at me with uncertainty and then laughed under his breath??

Day 3: I want to challenge myself a little more, so I have decided to branch out and say 'Hi' to a fellow grocery patron when I do my shopping tonight at the local shopping market. Who knows, maybe I could even spark up a convo about the shooting prices of green vegies and fruit?? Let you know how it goes.

3 comments:

CarrieMarie said...

Totally not the point of the blog, I know, but I was a little relieved to see that green veg & fruit prices are raising everywhere. Not that that's a good thing. Just makes me feel less alone when I get complainy about it! : )

Bagman and Butler said...

What an interesting two-voice blog. I came here from somewhere else...duh...caught by the title. My blog is kind of twin-speak too although my "twins" are both internal. In any case, as a stranger, I thought I'd say "hi" back to Frankie.

Delphine said...

Hello from France to Frankie & Bella. Interesting blog! Here everybody says ' bonjour' to everybody, it's the done thing! It felt strange when we first moved here.
I have twin grandchildren, Megan & Toby - when they started to speak they had their own complete language and continued this up to the age of three years, nobody else could understand a word, but they communicated perfectly with full understanding. After that they decided to join the rest of the english speaking population. continue having fun!