Ep.32 Jimpass

The Chicken Mind Nuggets's Podcast

Chicken Mind Nuggets.

Hosted by Wifey

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References for this episode

Introduction music graciously provided by

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Thinking Music" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Show script: (may differ slightly from spoken word)

I worked with a guy named Jim a few years back in a different department than where I am in now. Jim always felt he was above the rules because he has been there the longest. Procedures, events, and specific instructions were ignored because he dismissed the work as, “unnecessary and ridiculous.” There are specific procedures for how we do things at work, and ignoring those procedures can lead to devastating consequences. Somehow, he managed to slide past the documentation and work according to his own rules, to his satisfaction. I challenged him many times and said, “We need to do this according to procedure.” He huffed, and puffed, and tried to blow my house down, but it didn’t work except for his intimidating stature which towered over my vertically challenged frame. I wouldn’t call myself a, “goodie two shoes,” or a, “by the book,” person, but I do respect the long lines of complicated and intricate sentences, spelled out for me to follow…for my own safety…that guides me on how to correctly perform my job so I can KEEP my job. I used to be like Jim and bend the rules then not care about what my consequences were when I hit the pillow at night. I would welcome getting fired because the bureaucracy of the place made me question my values and position in the work force so much so that I felt a change of procedures would be a good fuck you to the system. Maybe that’s how Jim felt…I don’t know, but I can relate if he felt that way. To me, this is another line in the web which made up his complicated life that I know he could have unraveled. When I worked with him, he would get frustrated that I had questions, huff at my stubbornness to do the right thing, and get mad when I wasn’t working fast enough. It took me a while to grow thick skin to this and not to lash back at the wrongful assault that was being energetically targeted in my direction. Thick skin doesn’t happen overnight and I HATE when someone suggests to just grow some. To me, that’s like saying to put a really good band aid on the bullet wound. Now I will admit, I told myself to grow thick skin, but only because I knew he wouldn’t change and the only thing that I can do and be concerned with at that point is working with my integrity and doing the right things right. I would say this layer of skin is about 80% complete, but it didn’t come easy and took a solid year to get to that point. After I started to grow my skin, I noticed how often Jim would pitch what I’m going to call, “a Jim ball.” They would come out of nowhere and I wasn’t prepared to bat back, so I would frequently get hit. After enough hits, I decided to grow my skin. Slowly, the Jim ball pitches hurt less and less, and eventually they became what I call, “a Jimpass.” A Jimpass is when Jim does his Jim thing and I just let it go. I give it a pass. A Jimpass.

I know some of you may be wondering if I confronted him, or my manager, or a higher supervisor and my answer to that is yes and no. I have confronted him, and I told my manager, but here is the inner scoop. Jim had a drug problem, but was enjoying it just enough that he didn’t see it as an issue. This particular drug problem caused reactions and ways of thinking that he had become blind to recognizing. Tempers, huffs and puffs, emotionally detached outcomes, and random spiels were all related to this drug habit. He was respected enough to have the trust from superior’s who knew his guidance on repair was in the best intentions, so this seniority position gave him an untouchable feeling that was unfortunately, not really there. My manager understood he had these personality traits, but Jim was one of the only ones who was able to help keep the ship afloat because of his historical knowledge. There was also another factor – his family. Without getting to far into it, he had a family to provide for and given the conditions of his habit, I would say he was doing a pretty good job at remaining stable.

When I started to give him a Jimpass, I felt better about recognizing that each person owns their mistakes, and no one can make anyone else change unless they want to. Actions and words are a part of someone’s story, and you may not know why someone is reacting the way they do. Everyone has what Eckart Tolle calls a, “pain body,” but everyone also has different ways of showing this to other people. Some people don’t recognize that they have a pain body and blame their faults on the outside world, but those people probably have a pain body that is screaming to be healed, so it’s difficult for others to provide them with a Jimpass.

I continue to give people Jimpasses, not because I think wrongful actions should be dismissed, but because I recognize not everyone knows what they are doing. I bet there are Wifeypasses out there, and if they are, I am grateful for them, and I continue to work towards fixing every negative action I carry. Would the world be a better place if we all gave each other a Jimpass? I don’t know, but I think it would be more understanding, and THAT leads to better things.

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