100 Business Days Out: Day 35 - Conversation Imbalance

I have noticed in my conversations with friends and former colleagues just how obsessed we all are with work. Nearly every conversation carries some element of their job and work within the context. While not surprising, it is much more obvious when you don’t have anything to add back about your own job or happenings/challenges at work. It’s kind of like when at a party and you don’t drink and everyone else does. It is all so clear to you but not so much to everyone else. What I have found challenging for myself is that when I don’t have my own work-related response that the conversation can die off quickly. I might be overly sensitive but this week I found myself in conversations that went into a dead end and I didn’t have anything topical to bring them back and keep them on track. It was weird. Of course, I can relate many of the things to my past to the current conversation, but it is different for sure. Something as conversational as what does the summer vacation plans look like. As someone is telling you about how hard it is going to be to get a couple of weeks away, you just can’t say, “I don’t know why you don’t take the whole summer off like me?” :) What this means is that I have to be even that much more on top of what is going on in the business world and on top of the latest facts, happenings, etc. Of course, I could take the conversation in many different directions that would probably be better for all of us, but in all reality people really want to talk about their work. If they are struggling. it is therapeutic to talk it out. If they are on a work-high, they want to let others know. So, it’s okay with me if the conversation is a bit imbalanced. It’s just the way it is supposed to be…for now.