I woke up this morning to a reminder that my job is not my husband, my child, or a dear friend who checks in to make sure I'm doing well. I was not hired to be a parent, a superhero, or a miracle worker. Therapy taught me that I needed to be more transactional about work.
Nobody asked me to send HR that article about ways to retain women of color. In annual reviews, it wasn’t my responsibility to teach my supervisor how to do real diversity work.
When I became more transactional, my life became easier. I moved those professional pearls into spaces I could control to see the fruit I wanted to see.
How do you do that?
Starting today, recognize your professional worth. Never become so attached to a system that your identity can’t be separated from it. That’s having a healthy boundary and relationship with your job.
Realize that you are disposable. If you’re depending on your flowers to come from these workplaces, you’re going to be disappointed.
If your colleagues stress you out and can’t even open their mouths to do right by you on a daily basis, why are you expecting more from them after death?