I hate when people try to tell me how to make a cake...

[N.B. I must give credit to Amanda for the title of tonights post.  Thanks!!]

I present to you, after much deliberation and thought number 2 on my list of things that I hate.

Once again, I'm going to introduce it in a round about fashion...

Imagine your a weather person on TV.  Imagine your a really good TV weather person.  One day, you go on TV and tell the world "It's raining right now."  You have looked outside, confirmed its raining, checked your radar, know that its raining and that its going to be raining for a while.  After you confidently go on the air and tell the world that its raining, you go back to the office, have a seat feeling confident that you knew what you were doing.
Suddenly you get a phone call from a random John Q. Public.  "It's not raining" this person says.
"I assure you sir, it is raining here.  Where are you calling from sir?"
"I'm calling from one block away from you, and I say it's not raining"
"Sir, I assure you that it's raining outside!"
"I don't believe you"
"Then look outside" you reply.
"I talked to one of my friends, who lives on the moon, he tells me that its not raining there, therefore, I know its not raining here"

It's at this point that you, as the meteorologist are smacking your forehead as hard as you can.  The person on the phone is just infuriating.  No amount of logic, reason, fact will convince this person that you are correct and the person you are talking to is not.

I have a conversation exactly like this every single day I'm at work.  Welcome to retail.

I present #2 on my list:  hubris.

AKA: presumption, pretension, insolence, audacity, disdain, vanity, nerve, pride... [thanks to dictionary.com for all those synonyms]

There are some, yours truly included, that consider hubris/ pride as the greatest of all the sins.

There are moments in everyones life when you have to accept that someone knows more than you do.  There are moments in everyones life where you have to accept that what someone is telling you is true, and in your best interest to heed.

"The sooner you accept the fact that I know what I'm talking about, the better it will be for everyone"  It's a personal motto of mine.

People come into my store everyday and swear up and down that they know better than I do about the subject which I may not be the worlds foremost expert on--but I do consider myself an expert about.  Today for example a customer came to my place of employ looking to buy a PS2.  They said they wanted the larger model--the much less-reliable, minimum of 8-9 year old larger system.  I suggested they buy the smaller, newer, and from personal and professional experience more reliable system.  The customer swore up and down that I was wrong "I have three friends that had small ones that burned out."  In the back of my mind all I can think of is the several hundred defective large PS2s that I've taken in defective in my tenure and my place of employ--which shall not be named, of course.  I'm screaming in my mind "I can see it raining you idiot!!!"

Of course, the better angels of my nature take over and say "ok" and sell them the large system.

[The sweet payoff will be when they come back with the system they just bought, defective...]

Hubris. Pride.  Arrogance.  UGH.

My personal "anti-hubris" mantra:
Be willing to accept that sometimes you will be wrong.
Be willing to accept that other people know more than you do.
Be willing to accept that sometimes you need help.
Most importantly, be willing to accept the help and advice that other people are willing to give you.

Imagine you are a person looking to buy a professionally made cake.  Do you tell the baker how to make it?  What ingredients to use?  How to stir, pour, set your oven, decorate the outside?  Or do you accept that perhaps, just perhaps the person who you are talking to may just know what they are doing....

"The sooner you accept the fact that I know what I'm talking about, the better it will be for everyone"

I'm getting T-Shirts made.

Until tomorrow.

E