“You’re doing great.”
That’s it. Honestly, that’s probably all you need to hear today.
However, if you want to know the context for that photo, read on:
A few weeks ago in September, I was third in the queue in one of fantastic coffee shops near the Pearse St. rooms. My mind was a scrolling to-do list – it was everywhere but in that coffee shop. But I noticed the female barista was getting flustered. The pace of the morning was pressuring her. I don’t know why it caught my eye – but I saw her boss gently point out the next step and I realised she was training. Everyone waiting in the queue, impatiently on their phones. When I got order, I actually just smiled at her and said “By the way, you’re doing great. It’s really hard to start a new job.”
I honestly have no idea why I had that impulse.
It started a chain reaction. Her boss turned, patted her shoulder and said, “She really is doing great.” The guy behind me looked up at her and grinned and nodded his head. The lady waiting for her coffee ahead of me smiled, commented something I can’t remember – but we had a short chat about nothing. The feeling of pressure eased.
That nothing, though, can be everything. It really was a better lift to the morning than the coffee. Had I been buried in my phone, I would have remained slightly annoyed about the wait for my coffee.
I reflected on that interaction on the short walk back to the rooms.
1) It doesn’t take a psychologist to figure out that my impulse to do that had most likely been because of the reading I had been doing on talking to strangers and social connections (You probably have seen alot about it earlier this month when I launched this month’s #TalkToME challenge) I was more likely to recognise the opportunity – and appreciate the interaction.
2) The chain reaction means that I’m more likely to do something like that again.
If you have started the #TalkToMe challenge, let me know in the comments. (Missed it? You can catch up on posts from the start of the month or on the Blog)
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