Others? And Us?

Do you think that in order to be happy we must ignore others? Is it even possible to do this? Is the goal to only let others and their opinions affect us so much? Have you ever made a hard but worth-it personal or professional decision?

I have found that when we ignore others, it does not make us any better than the next person. We can't ignore people just because we want to be someone better. Ignorance does not make us better, it makes us ignorant.  We need to find happiness, but we need to find it within ourselves. We cannot ignore those people who do not fit into our routine. We need to know where they fit in and continue to include them. Ignoring people is the way we act when we are in elementary school, not when we are adults. In school, we can burn bridges and give the silent treatment, but in the real world we need all the friends we can get, they may turn out to be enemies, they may turn out to be allies, they may turn out to be coworkers, or even our bosses. We can never predict where the roads we chose will lead, but we need to think about how we treat others before acting prematurely. It is difficult to see eye-to-eye with someone when their opinion or objective is different from ours. We each need to keep our eyes and mind open, to understand and learn.

My most recent decision to move on in my life was a difficult one because the people I worked with became like family to me, as I spent more time with them than with my own family. This pulled me in so many directions. I felt like I was letting down those I worked with, but leaving and starting over, but I also felt like they let me down by not valuing what I could do. I learned, through heartache and tears, that they will appreciate me for who I am and will accept me for what I am able to do, and will understand why I made the decision I did. If they don't, then it is their loss. I gave my all and kept chugging along, but this was a challenge for me, both physically and mentally.

I can't ignore people because they come back around somewhere else in my life and I need to know that we can still work together. Ignorance IS NOT bliss.