30/10/2024
Recently I read this post on LinkedIn, and it described perfectly how I was treated in a recent work experience.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kvmarshall_we-have-all-worked-in-toxic-places-we-have-activity-7255996191929180160-mv4v?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Itās funny how language and writing can help us see the truth in almost any situation. And this is the reason that I will continue to write.
What confounds me every day as a middle-aged adult is how unrelatable events are, until they happen to you. Itās almost as if our brain and our bodies donāt allow us to entertain anything that is not immediately on our plate. Only after youāve gone through something, can you then relate to others (lived experience). Toxic workplaces; financial troubles; relationship breakdown; death of a loved one; infertility. Whatever it is, only when, and if it happens to you, will you be able to fully relate to the experiences of those that have already suffered. Doesnāt that seem strange. I wonder if our CV needs to reflect all our hardships/struggles/challenges in order for us to demonstrate the right experience to support others in a similar position.
OK! I just had an AHA moment. At the bottom of our CV next to our hobbies should be our Major Life Moments. What do think?
Krissy Regan CV
Hobbies - Major Life Moments
š¤Running -š«¶Bullying
š¤Travelling -š«¶Miscarriage
š¤Writing -š«¶Abuse
š¤Playing -š«¶Infertility
During an interview, or watercooler conversation, your major life moments can be chatted about as easily as how many kās you clocked this week. Most people would be extremely uncomfortable putting their major life moments on their CV, but we carry them inside of us every day.
If a Bully at work is triggering for you, and you know first-hand that it takes weeks, months and years to recover from Bullying then the chances are workplaces may have to take more seriously the impact of bullying and toxic behaviour at work (Donāt forget there are Laws including psycho safety).
Letās say you see a Boss (or person with power) repeatedly drinking and spending company assets on their addiction, and then playing favourites with promotions and things, you may recognise that form of abuse more easily than say colleagues who have not suffered abuse.
Rather than hide our āmajor life moments and treat them with shame we can show them off and know that they have become our Superpower. We become healthier individuals and workplaces when we acknowledge the Whole Person for their skills, their experiences, their attributes, and their superpowers.
Bullies are not heroās, those that survive them are. And in every situation, I can think of as an adult I would say this: Bullies and Abusers are tolerated for far too long, but in the end they always lose.
If you read the LinkedIN post, do check out the comments below as one guy talks about how he turned to alcohol for years to overcome the abuse he suffered at work. Knowing what workplace bullying and abuse āFEELS likeā, and how long it takes to recover, I certainly was not going to turn to the bottle. Instead, I choose to run and write my way out of it. Far healthier, and I get to see lots of places, meet lots of people and use my superpowers to help others.
I am an advocate for bringing your whole-self to every situation. It might feel strange at first, but you do go home every evening feeling Whole and your own kind of Wonder Woman! You can not thrive when you donāt feel safe. What I also know from decades of experience is that rejection is re-direction, so ruminating on how you were treated is not helpful long term. You should try to process it, learn from it, and move forward.
Donāt let negative experiences hold you back from achieving your full potential. Not every setting is right for every individual. There are āplenty more fish in the sea, jobs, towns, homes, friends etc.ā Always strive to be your best self and the right people will notice.
Love and Health, š„°
Krissy Regan
Mindful Mum's Queensland
The Wellness Poet