Trainer vs Delegate: A true story

Location: Classified

Date: Recent

Organisation: Classified

Training session objective: Inspiring people to be more productive and positive

Trainer name: Classified, though not in my direct network

And so we begin…

Trainer: “What you need to appreciate is the reason why you are tired. It’s the list of things that you know you need to do that you haven’t done yet. It is that bouncing about in the back of your mind that is causing the stress and tiredness. When you get home don’t sit in front of the TV, get up and do some of those jobs around the house that you have been meaning to do for ages. Clear out the garage or clean the cooker. You’ll feel less tired when you have done that as your mental list of things that you need to complete will be shorter. You will sleep better and you will feel better.Go home every night and think ‘what am I going to do that isn’t slumping on the sofa?’ Does that make sense for everyone?”

Delegate: “I work here full time and I have three children. When I finish work I go straight home and do the housework and feed my children and my husband. It’s at least half past eight when I finish. I’m tired because I am tired, not because I have a list of things I need to do. I always have a list of things to do, but it is what I’ve already done that makes me tired. I want to slump in front of the TV, I’m entitled to slump in front of the TV – and yet you are telling me that I have to go and clear out my garage. That doesn’t make any sense. I need rest and to be trusted that I know when I’ve got enough energy to clean my own garage. People like you don’t understand what I have going on at all and since my life is quite a normal one, so I’m guessing you don’t know what it is like for most people in this room”.

Lesson:

If what comes out of your mouth hasn’t been stress tested against reality, then it shouldn’t come out of your mouth.