We often hear that people are basically good. However, the truth is that we are predisposed to do bad things. The reason we often do not display our bad traits is because of self-discipline and sometimes intervention from the support system we have around us. Recently, as I prepared to dine in a restaurant with my family, our waiter repeatedly failed to asked us if we were ready to order and took breakfast orders from at least two tables that were seated after our arrival. As I became more and more irritated, I thought to myself "amateur." Then a third table got their orders taken. I was about to explode at that point. When the waiter finally asked if we were ready to order, I almost lost my cool and actually raised my hand to voice my displeasure.
My wife sensing the eruption that was in progress, quickly used a diversionary tactic to intercept my actions and engaged the waiter in a conversion about menu choices. This came from my wife who normally has a much shorter fuse than I do, especially in traffic. She attempted to deflect this bad behavior in me which she sometimes has trouble controlling within herself. Maybe the reason being is that we are more apt to look outward than inward. But even when we think that a particular person shouldn't correct us because of their perceived shortcomings, we should still be able to accept the criticism if it will help us improve our performance or behavior. In a like manner, we also shouldn't let personal shortcomings prevent us from taking corrective action when a situation dictates it.
Sidebar: Yeah, I'm Superbad and he was still an amateur, but we did get our meals first!
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