No More Apologies
(well, maybe just the one)
By Judith Cullen
(c) 2015
I get excited about things.
This is a known fact to my good friends and relations. When I am excited about something, it gets
150% of my available enthusiasm. I am
almost always excited about something: a story idea, a design project,
something new I just learned. While this
seeming fanaticism can be hard to take at times, its reverse is wholly
unpleasant to be around.
Those who know me well understand that this is not
ego-based; this is my creative energy at its highest rev. I function at my best in this state. They know that I go a little bonkers when
questioned regarding something that I am jazzed about. I am not so lacking in self-awareness to fail
to notice that some folks have strategies to deal with me when I “go off.”
One is to redirect, ask questions, “This is interesting, can
we talk about it again when we have more time? I need to go pick up Jason in 10
minutes.” Another is to make me aware
that I have “gone off” and am rattling on, not allowing them to let them get a
word in edgewise. This is usually done
kindly. There are a few people who know, and seem to have accepted that I am
almost incapable of answering an open question simply. I hope this is because they accept me as I am
and enjoy my flights of exhilaration. If
they don’t, they are sympathetic enough to my terminal enthusiasm to not let me
know it. I am grateful for the compassion that all these approaches reflect.
