Authenticity: I’m not everyone’s cup of tea…
Sometimes honesty just hits differently. I appreciate a good conversation with constructive criticism and excellent returns on what to do differently. Yet sometimes when people are attempting to be genuine, the harsh truth is … well… harsh… It strikes me just behind the gut, making me hunch over just a smidge. Which I hate… I’m a Leo, an ESTJ, an Enneagram 8 for those of you who follow Meyers Briggs and personality traits. It irritates me to the core when someone affects me enough to let my body language speak in weakness. It’s just who I am!
Listen, I am not everyone’s cup of tea. If I was then I am doing something wrong. That is fake and lacks the challenge and the beauty of the differences in each soul on this earth. I’m a girl. A very small, very feminine girl. I’m quite used to coworkers not being a fan until I prove them wrong. I’ve done it for 20 years. I am more than aware of how I look, and I realize that this “issue” is about them, not about me or lack of ability on my part. I’m just here to do the job. That said, here is a ridiculous story that I like to add to my chronicles of this crazy life.
Every department has that ONEEEE station where all the “red-headed-step-kids,” get assigned to. You know the one. The Land of the Misfits, good ol Station 3. Anywhoooo, my partner at the time, who was fairly new to the department, but not new to the fire service, (plus he was from out of state so he was like, DOUBLE ICKY) had been teamed up out there. It took us less than one full shift for us to realize that not only were we cut from the same cloth, but our minds literally worked cohesively. While the misfit thing was kind of a joke, there always seemed to be some questionable truth to it. The department had reached an all time low in moral, as they do. We made the decision together that we were not going to be that. No “grumpy bumpy”, no “boo-hoo-why-do-we-have-to-train”, no “this place sucks.” We were going to make Station 3, A shift the absolute BEST crew there was!! While we spent our mornings doing truck checks and discussing the daily tasks, we also alternated adding a positive quote to the white board. Now I’m not talking about the LIVE,LAUGH,LOVE kind of quotes, but the good firehouse ones that were genuine. We would pick a piece of equipment that we hadn’t touched in a while and train on that. We carried on, bettering ourselves and keeping to ourselves. We would come in the next shift and either our quote would be erased, or there would be some ridiculous comment written over it. It didn’t matter to us though, because it was working for us and not bothering anyone else.
I had been working part-time with a fire academy for some time. The department had live fire training coming up. We had little to no training program at this time, so we had the great idea to initiate an offer to plan and conduct the next live fire training. We knew that was a bigger deal, with rules to be well versed in, so we made a presentation out of it. We spent a few weeks on this plan. We made an outline and prepared a presentation, power point and all. So, now we are at the next step….. what is the next step?…? A little louder for the people in the back??!! Yes, “FOLLOW YOUR CHAIN OF COMMAND.” That’s right! Great job! We put in a call to Lieutenant to give us a few moments to chat with him. So, out to the land of the misfits he came. We tell him our idea and show him an outline of the power point to present to the Chief and we sit in anticipation, with giant cheesy smiles ready for the go ahead… YALL!!! You would not believe this. This man told us, and I quote… “Look, I like this idea… and we need it… but…. It’s coming from YOU… and people don’t like you… so don’t be surprised if this gets rejected… but, I mean I like you guys though!”
You could have knocked us over with a feather. The one thing we hadn’t even thought about for a moment was the possibility of rejection! But you know what, that’s not how you live your life! The “what if I don’t,” crap of an idea? NO! “What if you DO!?” Funny thing is, we tightened up our helmet strap, pushed on and got the approval we needed. We went on to conduct the very best and most fun live fire training TO DATE! That was exact words from our comrades!
You are going to get BAD advice from leadership all throughout your career. What matters is your integrity. You keep doing what you know is the right thing, and all the rest just falls into place. Who gives a shit who likes who… DO YOUR DAMN JOB!