Here are some haiku to contemplate when you find yourself in the midst of difficult, uncomfortable, tense situations at work. Read them slowly. Notice how you feel about each one.
Whenever I try
to see things the way you do,
fear overcomes me.
I will obey you.
Whatever you say is right.
The org chart says so.
Disagreeing with
everyone else about this,
I must be confused.
When the yelling starts
and people blame each other,
I flee for safety.
You don't understand
the complexities we face.
That's why I'm yelling.
When compromise fails,
I strengthen my position
by finding allies.
When we don't agree,
I try everything I know
to bring you around.
When I ask myself,
"Why can't we all get along?"
the answer is them.
We get in trouble
whenever we're together.
Why don't you shape up?
It would be better
for us all if only you
wouldn't question me.
My approach to this
is clearly better than yours.
Why can't you see that?
She does what she wants,
when she's ready to do it.
I must tell her boss.
Whenever I hear
an offer so generous
it just can't be true.
Things look very bleak.
We may never resolve this.
Tell me what's for lunch.
We warned them again,
and they tried it anyway.
Now it's their problem.
I'll never forget
the pain you caused me back then.
And now you will pay.
I might hurt myself
by trying to destroy you,
but you deserve it.
She is pure evil.
We must do all we can do
to keep her contained.
Listening to you
explain the way you see things
would make me seem weak.
If you respect me
you'll agree with me on this.
If you don't — you don't.
You remind me of
someone who once did me wrong.
I see him not you.
I want what I want.
What you want does not matter.
Just do as I say.
I am everything.
Everyone must bow to me.
Especially you.
I must divide you,
because you both threaten me.
Dividing, I conquer.
She saved us last year.
Whatever she says is true.
We follow her lead.
If you say we can,
success is a certainty.
We believe in you.
He rarely attends
but we schedule it for him
in case he breaks free.
Whatever you say,
however you insult me,
I always stay cool.
He hasn't a clue
how impossible that is,
but we must do it.
Writing haiku can be a relaxing, meditative exercise. The act can clear your mind. Try it. More about haiku 
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Reader Comments
- Naomi Karten (www.nkarten.com)
- Haiku that describe
Communication stances —
What a great idea!
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Related articles
More articles on Emotions at Work:
Celebrate!- When you celebrate — even minor successes — you change your outlook, you energize yourself,
and you create new ways to achieve more successes. Too often we let others define what we will celebrate.
Actually, we're in complete command of what we celebrate. When we take charge of our celebrations, we
make life a lot more fun.
Are You Taking on the Full Load?- Taking on the full load is what we do when we feel fully responsible for either the success or the failure
of some organizational activity. Instead of asking for help, we take extreme measures to execute responsibilities
that might not even be ours.
Responding to Rumors- Have you ever heard nasty rumors about yourself? When rumors are damaging, they can hurt our careers,
our self-esteem, and even our health. Sadly, our response to rumors often compounds the serious damage
they do.
Totally at Home- Getting home from work is far more than a question of transportation. What can we do to come home totally
— to move not only our bodies, but our minds and our spirits from work to home?
Scope Creep and the Planning Fallacy- Much is known about scope creep, but it nevertheless occurs with such alarming frequency that in some
organizations, it's a certainty. Perhaps what keeps us from controlling it better is that its causes
can't be addressed with management methodology. Its causes might be, in part, psychological.
See also Emotions at Work and Conflict Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming March 29: Time Slot Recycling: The Risks- When we can't begin a meeting because some people haven't arrived, we sometimes cancel the meeting and hold a different one, with the people who are in attendance. It might seem like a good way to avoid wasting time, but there are risks. Available here and by RSS on March 29.
And on April 5: The Fallacy of Division- Errors of reasoning are pervasive in everyday thought in most organizations. One of the more common errors is called the Fallacy of Division, in which we assume that attributes of a class apply to all members of that class. It leads to ridiculous results. Available here and by RSS on April 5.
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