Compensation

I have learned one thing about myself over the last years.

I hate it when people are fluttering around me when they are stressed. You know those people?

When they get stressed by a list of things to do, they power-walk from one place to the next. You can feel the stress oozing off of them as they fly by. "Will I get everything done? Will I miss something? What will I forget if I don't take care of it now?"...zoom...zoom....zoom...flutter...flutter...flutter...

That stresses me out.

I can feel the tension building in me. I start to feel snappy. I want to say "Calm down. It will all work out. You don't need to do everything right now." But I know if I say anything it will probably sound critical and induce a peaceful effect. And so, whenever this situation presents itself, I find myself compensating for the tension by physically and emotionally slowing down.

I work slower. I move slower. I kind of dull my emotions and try to mentally focus on one specific thing, doing my best to ignore the fluttering around me.

The problem is then I feel unproductive because of my "slowing down" when people are still buzzing around me. It's all rather irritating. Thankfully the fluttering only lasts for a "short" amount of time.