Reflect on this – The mouth can already have a sweet/bitter/neutral taste and how it perceives the taste of food could depend on that. My question is – if the mouth is already bitter, will it be fully able to grasp sweetness in the food? Or is the food actually bitter?

If you are satisfied with your answer, consider this – what is perception per say? Is perception really reality or a segment of it? What are you more afraid of – being a fool or being perceived as a fool?

Wipe the fear of being perceived a fool for all of us are really fools in progress 😛

Ok let me elaborate a bit 🙂

Your perception decides a huge part of your emotional experience but it is actually not the entire reality.

How you feel about yourself is the state of the mouth. The external environment (other’s thoughts, actions, activities we do etc) are the food. How you perceive the food is decided by your understanding of the taste of the food. If your mouth is already bitter, food which is actually sweet would be perceived as bitter. There are many who dont believe any good that is said about them and feel even worse when someone says something bad.

Now the question is whether the external environment/food is really that unpleasant..Or perhaps you’re terribly conscious, judgmental about yourself and invariably extend that feeling to others, is something you have to introspect about.

Women are definitely a subset of the human species and like every person out there, they have certain needs – respect, politeness and they enjoy praise too. In a work place setting, one needs to be professional and mostly stay on a positive footing with co-workers. But arent co-workers technically just people?

Really, despite all our misgivings, we’re all the same – we just want to do well and be happy. Maybe the way we do things differ but fundamentally, there is this human quality in all of us.

Be kind to yourself – you’re a good person with wonderful qualities and so are they. Try to recognize what you have in common rather than focusing on your differences.

Hi Jack

My apologies but have not had a chance to read through other posts as yet but I wanted to offer my perspective on this as I notice that you are 56 and an Australian. I am 20 years younger to you but also an Australian and I can relate to your query.

I have found it hard as well to work in a female dominant workplace previously although I am a female myself, so you are not alone 🙂 What I have found is that when certain type of women come together, they can create a toxic environment esp if they do not have higher education or high level jobs. The insecurity that you talk about can be quite rife in this group as well for multiple reasons. But the bottom line is that it is not all that bad and can be dealt with easily.

I learnt over time that to survive in a female dominant workplace, you need to have clear boundaries. Do not ever engage in gossip, complaining, bitching or back biting session with any of them as you wont know how and where that information is going to be shared. You cant maintain peace with one and forget the rest. Often, there is an all or none principle at work here so you have to be cordial with all (even if it is superficially). Do not take sides. Be YOU.

Due to various hormonal changes, some women can go through different phases at work, ie, some days they are nice and some days, they can be very bitchy. You must have experienced all of this at work by now 🙂 The easiest way to deal with this is to offer your genuine care and attention. Do not ignore but acknowledge and move away if you don’t feel like talking.

Lastly, everyone loves a genuine connection, which is filled with love, acceptance and respect. We should always treat people the way they wish to be treated. So if you want to know a certain woman at work or get her help, ask her nicely as to how you can establish such a connection keeping within your boundaries. I have learnt that making assumptions about people is not the right thing to do and making anyone feel stupid is not at all wise. Nowadays, I think for a few mins before I say anything not so pleasant to anyone as I have learnt that people are defensive beings. No one likes to be told off. Putting a positive spin helps especially when you are dealing with a work colleague.

Wish you all the best in your journey and hey, be YOU. You are perfect the way you and the areas, which you think could do with improvement, work on them but with self love and nurture……never ever do the negative self talk again. You are in your fifties and you have seen a lot of the world and people. Not many people at your age have the courage to ask such a question that you did so be proud of yourself, pls 🙂

Cheers,

Jasmine

I’m so glad Jasmin’s post resonated with you. It made me happy as well! 🙂

Jack, please don’t take my comments about possibly coming across the wrong way personally. The reason I pointed that out was that sometimes people have the best of intentions, but they are anxious or nervous and it ends up coming across the wrong way. I wasn’t sure if that was the case, but it looks like Jasmine’s interpretation hit closer to home.

…and like Jasmine said, please stop the negative self-talk. It makes a huge difference in life. You have no idea how much power those pords have over you until you stop them. It’s a hugely liberating experience!