Remember the story of the plumber who lay his troubles at his trouble tree?
David’s plumber had just had a rough day. He had a flat tyre on his way to work, his drill quit and his truck refused to start. David drove the distraught man home.
Just before they entered home, the plumber paused briefly at a tree, touching its tips. He then opened the door and underwent an amazing transformation. He hugged his kids, kissed his wife and was all smiles! Afterwards, when David was walking out, he asked his plumber about his behaviour and he said – ‘Everyday, I leave all my work troubles at the tree before walking in. The funny thing is when I come in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t as many as I left..’
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It’s an amazing tale. But here’s the problem. It’s way beyond my capability level, at least for now.
I categorize work days into 3 kinds – The easy/smooth sailing, the challenging and the very challenging. Smooth sailing is, as the name suggests, smooth. During the challenging days, I have some difficulty not having the mood spill over after work. The after-work long shower generally does the trick. But, on the very challenging days, I find it impossible to contain my emotions/mood to work. It generally flows into my life.
This is not ideal. And I’d like it to not be the case. But, at this point, I don’t seem capable of switching off seamlessly.
Do you manage to do so? If so, are there any special routines that enable you to?
I’d appreciate your help. And I’d also appreciate your take on whether this is just overly idealistic. Look forward to the discussion!
A Learning a Day 