Some people are more sand than silk. They scrub you, take your edges off, teach you. So while it may be easier to be around silky people and smooth sailing, the speed bumps and rough edges can actually give you the opportunity to learn and explore other sides of yourself – and grow as a person.
A good friend in sales shared with me once, how he – when he had had a really shitty customer – had come to learn to say Thank You (inside himself, self-talk – not to the perpetrator!!!). For giving him this opportunity to learn even more patience and forbearing.
Learn from him: treasure the smooth rides – and appreciate the rough edges and the “sand people”, who are little litmus tests of how well you are managing your own reactions, thoughts and emotions in times of adversity – we can all be calm when it’s easy-going, right?! The more challenge and uncertainty you can handle (and still stay calm!), proves how far you have come!
So celebrate silk and sand, we need them both.