LISTEN to the podcast discussion of this article: Everybody Hurts
It’s about the people. Yesterday I was dragging. I woke at 3:30 with some writing ideas. By 6:00 am I was cooked, I fell back asleep and work fifteen minutes before I needed to be at work. I never recovered. I was tired all day. No amount of coffee was going to revive me. Not sure what emotional heaviness was riding my back: I wasn’t at my best.
Someone else wasn’t feeling it either and called out. The morning was a blur as we struggled to fill all the positions. I was cashiering all morning and before I knew it, “Time for your first ten,” Aiden said. I reached for a cold brew protein and caffeine drink and sat on the upstairs couch with my eyes covered. I was dragging.
The day didn’t seem busy, but we did seem to be behind all day. Not just me, everyone was pushed into roles they didn’t anticipate. Even the managers were working the registers and doing the ice run, that I loved to do, tune out and scoop ice into plastic bags for the customers. I couldn’t see my way to 4:30.
A friend used to tell me while we were walking up incredible hills, “You’ll either make it or you’ll die.”
In this case, I was tapped out and hoping to rely on my mindfulness and breathing strategies. It wasn’t working. I wanted to go home, but I could see the hardship this would cause the rest of my team. I noticed other colleagues who were not as perky as usual. Maybe it was just an off day for all of us. The customers seemed to be happy enough.
As I neared my 6 hour mark, my limits were being tested. I was out of breaks, out of caffiene, and my lunch wasn’t lifting my spirits. I looked at my manager for a break. I needed to get off the register and have some chill time doing less enaged tasks, except there was no one to sub-in for me. We were all going as fast as we could.
“I need a break from the register,” I said to one of the newest “supervisors.”
“What time are you off?”
“In twenty minutes.”
I could either collapse and go to the hospital or finish my shift. I know that sounds dramatic, but no ammount of protien drink, fruit juice, or supplement was going to give me the energy I needed to finish my shift with attention and grace.
Even when I was off the register, one of the other manager’s didn’t recognize my overwhelm. I worked some other jobs until my shift was over. I limped to my car.
I had made it. I survived. I could slow down and pay attention driving home. I could opt-out of my next planned activities and take a nap. Fall into bed. Collapse.
This morning it seems like a distant memory. I slept well, went to bed early, and I’m sipping on my first coffee of the day. Something with Lion’s Main mixed in for sharpness and energy.
“Let’s go!”
Unlike my dread during week one, I’m actually looking forward to my same shift, 8 – 4:30. How can I support my team as well as my customers? We have to get out of ourselves so we recognize the people around us. It takes some self-awareness and energy to be “of service.”
“Namasté.”
The tired cashier in me, sees the tired customer in you. “Hello, I’m happy to see you.”
[Listen to the Deep Dive explore the concepts of The Happy Cashier.]
The hope I see in others
becomes the hope I have for myself,
my life, and my own journey.
– The Happy Cashier
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ALT: Botisatva’s Bookshelf | The Happy Cashier Podcast
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