I had a car accident a few years ago.
I was in New Jersey, and I went to get tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich at my favorite Italian restaurant.
After enjoying my meal, I got into my rental vehicle and drove towards McGuire Air Force Base.
On my way there, I was driving around 60 miles an hour when a vehicle decided to cross over the intersection, and they stopped right in the middle before getting to the following line, so I slammed on the brakes turn the steering wheel as far as I could and crash into the back of the vehicle.
I swerved all the way outside into the grass and saw how the other vehicle spun out of control and ended up on the other side of the road.
Luckily, I had no broken bones, but I have been having on and off back pain since then.
This should be ok for the most part, but I tend to have a hard time when the pain shows up.
Here’s how I see this affecting my work.
I will show up to a meeting, and others would immediately ask me if I am ok, even without realizing it, my face it’s already showing the pain, which then indicates to others that I am not at my best, and I find myself explaining to people how I had an accident a few years ago, and now I suffer from back pain.
I sense my stress level going up, which then makes me jump to conclusions.
I just want things to get done quickly and tend to stop thinking strategically, I stop looking at the possibilities, and I just want to move forward with a solution because my pain is a constant reminder that I don’t want to be at work.
I have also been holding interviews, and while I’m usually very upbeat and I smile a lot while I’m in pain, I find this very hard to do, and the result is a poor interview on my part where I don’t represent the company as best as I could.
Lastly, I have been finding myself just quickly glancing through information and not concentrating on its contents or consuming them entirely.
Something similar happens with my writing, where I tend to write in bullet points and concise sentences, straight to the end, with minimal context just so I can get it done and over with.
That’s it. I’m still in pain, so I’m not sure that I have a final point to make here other than it does affect how I work, my personal life, and the people around me.
Be patient, smile, and remember that the pain is temporary.
Thanks for reading.
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