Sitting here, looking at the maybe two inches of snow today, it's easy for Northern Westchester to feel a bit gypped. We were promise a blizzard; we got nuthin'. Give the two feet of snow to people who know what to do with it... that's my feeling.
Because of blizzard fears - and yes, a little bit of snow and slippery last evening on the roads - I got a shorter shift than I expected at another Starbucks, not my own, the one in our area with the drive thru window. Starbucks has become big on drive through windows... but most of Westchester is without them, and because of that, few of us are well trained on drive through process.
This came up last night, because I told my boss, when she volunteered me to cover the shift in this other store, I pointed out that I had wasn't good on drive through. "That's fine," she said, "no big deal," and promised me that the other workers would be familiar, even though they came from other stores.
So last night, I wound up working with the Manager of said other store (who is close friends with my boss), who said, jokingly "you know, when I told K____ that I was worried about you not having drive through experience, she said don't worry, you'd be fine." At which point I told her about how my boss had promised me others with drive through experience. We both laughed - partly because the nice girl from the other store who was also covering a shift had no idea about drive through either... and breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn't come down to us, the inexperienced.
I was struck, though, by the faith my boss has in me - that she can throw me into almost any situation and expect me to work through it, and conveys that faith to others. It's what we want, isn't it? At least it's what I want: to inspire the kind of confidence in my abilities and strengths to overcome obstacles.
Up to a point. I've learned a lot, the past couple of years, about over promising, and failing to deliver. "I can handle it" has, in my gaining ofage and wisdom, been replaced by "I can handle a lot of it... but not all of it." I find myself getting a little more honest, a little less rash in promising to exceed every expectation, surpass every goal. I can do some things... I cannot do everything. Believe me, it's been a struggle just to get that far.
A day like yesterday can cause you to lose faith... in weather people and their inability to predict, or even your own faith in your own abilities, like say, driving in snow. I'm coming to believe that faith and trust in others should be tempered by keeping expectations realistic: nobody's perfect, you can't know everything... people will make mistakes.
It's nice to be trusted, to give the impression of confidence and the ability to handle everything life throws your way... but I suspect I've become good - too good - at faking it. Have a little faith in me... but only a little. Otherwise, I might let you down. And I'd hate to do that.
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