Emotional Resilience: Lessons from a Tough Job

Daily writing prompt

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

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As a woman who struggles socially, I’ve had my fair share of browbeating both during school and work.

In my third year at a factory job, a role that involved repetitive line work and learning various stations on the line, I had become accustomed to the routine. There was a reasonably new associate outside the line, and I knew some things about the job while I was training. When the associate forgot parts for the line or the count of correct parts was off, I would silently help while everyone was on break.

I felt satisfied that the line would keep running and that I had helped someone, even if she would never know. Then, one shift, I was working as usual when I noticed I had the wrong components for the parts we were building. The offline associate supplying the parts didn’t see it, so I notified her. She promptly turned to me, asked why I had not noticed the parts were wrong, and let her know earlier. Afterward, she told me to get my s**t together and do my job right.

At that moment, I realized that it wasn’t my job to do her work and that her obscene words hit me all at once. I couldn’t hold back my feelings any longer. Upon receiving permission, I took a moment for self-care and found a safe space in the bathroom to let my emotions out. What felt like hours were mere minutes while my tears flowed. Finally, I found the courage to visit a trusted leader, as I still wasn’t comfortable with my former boss.

He listened silently to my story. With a stern look, he met my eye for an eye and asked, “How long do you think the conversation with the associate lasted?”

Confused, I answered for a few seconds.

“I want you to think. Are the few seconds of one person’s misconduct worth the seconds, minutes, or the hours you spend dwelling on it?”

It took a while before I was entirely able to understand his words. Don’t let one wrong moment in your life dictate your emotions. Their actions are not worth your mental health.