Turns out a post I wrote last year has had visitors recently. Namely me!
That’s right, peeps, with the holiday season approaching, I do believe it is time to revisit the relationship filing system.
What’s that you ask?
It’s an effective way of “coping” with the idiosyncrasies of interpersonal relationships. You know .. ones that cause you to stop and say … hmm.
File # 1: The “Now you know” (NYK) file. If someone disappoints you, hurts you, slights you, double-crosses you, steals from you, cheats on you, or lies to you… file them in the NYK file. It’s up to you to decide if and when to let them out.
NOTE: The NYK can be filled with positives, too. My NYK is also filled up with friends who’ve been there when we’ve suffered a loss, lent a hand, or simply stayed close by when we were struggling.
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. – Maya Angelou
File 2: The “Jimmy Cracked Corn” (JCC) file. (from the childhood song, “Jimmy Cracked Corn and I don’t care…”) This is the “I don’t care, I’m done worrying about it/feeling responsible for it/can’t fix it anyways” file. The JCC file is perfect for situations involving a lot of drama, detrimental for you to be in (lose: lose situation) and are often operated by “energy vampires.” What’s powerful about using this system is that it always ABSOLVES you of someone else’s bad behavior.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou
Example 1: Someone you work with steals your cost-savings idea, becomes the company hero and gets all the credit. Your credit. File: NYK. Resolve to never give them the same opportunity again; unless it’s not a big deal to you and, if that’s the case, move them to the JCC file.
Example 2: The snarpy relative who only calls when she wants something and then, in the process, makes derogatory comments .. about you .. to you. File? JCC.
I have had my share of Jimmy Cracked Corn contenders – enough make me a corn casserole. On that note … here’s a simple but yummy recipe for a (cold) Corn Casserole containing several unexpected ingredients:
- 2 cans of kernel corn, drained
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar
- 3 green onions, chopped including greens
- about 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups of of mayonnaise (enough to hold the above ingredients together).
Fold ingredients together, top with crushed BBQ flavored Corn Chips (Hey! I didn’t say this was healthy, I said it was yum-my) and serve.
You’ll have yourself a crunchy, creamy side-dish to enjoy and when you serve it, be sure to smile covertly and repeat after me, “Now you know!”