“It sure is a beautiful day,” I said to the smiling young lady as I approached the counter.

With a look that questioned my sanity, she raised one eyebrow and shook her head. “But I have to go back out there soon, and it’s killing my allergies.”

My smile widened as I tried shifting the sales associate's mindset to a slightly less irritable one. “Well, at least it’s not raining!”

She shot back, “We need some rain. Maybe it would knock down some of this pollen.”

Undeterred, I launched another encouraging comment as I raised my hands and looked around. “Hey! You work in a pharmacy. You should be able to get some great deals on allergy meds.”

She leaned forward with an even more disappointed look. “We don’t get as good of a discount as you’d think.”

~~~~~~~~~~

As a leader, do you often find yourself trying to please one person only to disappoint another? Do you feel like no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to get that one person to be happy or get on board?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” I’ve had this lesson beaten into me time and again, yet I still have a hard time remembering that some people may never be happy because they continuously choose to be unhappy.

Some people have developed the ability to see the best in the worst situations. Unfortunately, some folks are determined to see the worst in the best situations.