I’m a bit late with today’s post, as I’ve been adjusting to a new environment and reconnecting with my family.
Today’s subject stems from recent conversations about our experiences in the workforce.
How interesting it is that something as innocent as approaching everyday situations intellectually can so often elicit unsavory reactions.
What I haven’t mentioned in these conversations is that I’ve been actively working on my communication style, timing, and delivery in an effort to minimize these kinds of adverse outcomes.
It has never, in my entire life, been my intention to outsmart or outdo anyone.
And yet, somehow, I seem to have managed to do just that.
I suspect this is the experience of many of my fellow intellectuals. Somehow, we’ve managed to become the enemy… of sorts.
In many of these instances, the unfavorable reactions I’ve encountered have occurred while I was simply exploring a subject, under the assumption that the other person was just as inquisitive as I am.
Both professionally and personally, this has been a recurring challenge—one I’m still learning how to navigate.
As a child, my expressions were received as endearingly witty. As an adult, however, that same quality seems to have earned me the label of being “high-handed.”
It’s as confusing to me as it must be to the person on the receiving end.
Because, as we’ve been sharing in these recent conversations, all we’re trying to do is be ourselves. And somehow, who we are is being interpreted as something we are not.
It’s alienating, frankly.
And what are we supposed to do with that?
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