Kaleen’s Story – Part 1

© 2017 1 Moment Wiser, LLC

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” she’d been asked when she interviewed for this job. 5 years later, Kaleen still felt like a drone. She had a Master’s in Business Administration, but today they’d announced one more management position was filled by someone with less education and less experience in the company.

“I should just walk out. It’s always, ‘Hey Kaleen, would you make this spreadsheet for me? Would you put together this newsletter? Would you handle 5 projects at once?’ They know I pay attention to detail. Dharma sure doesn’t. If she can’t delegate something, she just makes it up as she goes. Now I bet she’s earning twice as much as I am. I swear I want to walk out that door.”

Tara gave a sympathetic frown and tilted her head left with a hum that sounded like, “Aw.” She knew better than to engage. She lowered her fork, shook her head and with a smile said, “Who would be my lunch buddy if you left?” Gastro-enthusiasts, the girls tested all their new recipes on each other. Kaleen’s olive-stuffed mushrooms were amazing today.

The truth was Kaleen paid great attention to detail. She was brilliant at project planning and thought of fine points Tara might otherwise have missed. Kaleen planned the details of every project, but guarded them like a soldier, lest anyone stray from her plan. She began tasks with great enthusiasm and worked long hours to accomplish her goals. Then, her excitement would escalate to resentment and anger when others chose work-life balance. Tara’s friend Cory had been on a team with her last year. Cory said, “You never know what mood she’ll be in, but give her a minute and she’ll go psycho about something.” As far as Tara knew, she was the only one who could put up with Kaleen consistently. Tara prided herself on diplomacy.

She changed the subject. “All this talk about work makes me forget I’m on break. How are you and Darius?”

Kaleen rolled her eyes. “I can’t figure him out. He’s always so defensive around me, and he won’t talk about what he’s feeling. I shouldn’t have said yes when he proposed, because now he’s further away than ever.”

Tara couldn’t imagine living with Kaleen, but guys are used to crazy women, right?

We all have times we don’t play well with others, but sometimes we’re downright neurotic. Cory called Kaleen “psycho,” but a psychopath is out of touch with reality and may do things that defy social norms. A neurotic can be overly sensitive to reality or read too much negative potential into situations. While acting in a neurotic manner, a person may treat social expectations with life-or-death importance. Darius had been late to a date once. Only once, because in the 8 months since that date, that error had been Kaleen’s go-to story about him at parties.

Wikipedia explains neuroticism well:

Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than average to be moody and to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness.[1][2] People who are neurotic respond worse to stressors and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. They are often self-conscious and shy, and they may have trouble controlling urges and delaying gratification.

When we respond to situations in a neurotic manner, we usually do things that push away or destroy the security and acceptance we really want. How do we get this way, and what hope do we have? We’ll talk about that next week, as we read the rest of Kaleen’s story. For now, take this test to see if you might be a little neurotic.  Don’t worry, nearly all of us have some issues to deal with.

Your experiences may have embedded some negative code in your brain, but God can help. Take an inventory of your fears and then hand them to God. Ask Him to flash a little green “Turn” arrow in your head when you’re on the verge of overreacting or chasing people away. The apostle Paul put one town’s ministry into the hands of an inexperienced but diligent young man. In his letter to Timothy, he told Timothy (and possibly himself), “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (I Timothy 1:7 NKJV)

Michael Bridges
Michael Bridges

54 Responses

  1. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was curious what all is needed to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet savvy so I’m not 100% sure. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it

    1. It cost a bit to set up this website, but I began by using WordPress for free. You might try that until you build an audience. For a professional site, I recommend Digital Ventures.

  2. Heya are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you need any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    1. No, you don’t need coding knowledge to use WordPress, and they have great tutorials from simple to complex.

  3. Hi there, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is very much appreciated.

    1. I get TONS of spam. It’s ridiculous. I’m thinking of signing up for Akismet if it gets too bad, but at the moment I can handle it myself. I have a policy of not posting anyone’s website unless I’ve reviewed it and it’s applicable to something I’m sharing with my readers. For that reason, if someone leaves a comment that might not be spam, I just edit the comment to remove the URL. I do check out all the URLs, though and have found some neat places I might share in future blog posts.

  4. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks

    1. I appreciate the compliment. Some of the pictures are mine and others came from Pixabay. I used the WordPress “Brown” theme, and the site was built by Digital Ventures.

  5. Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon. Thanks

  6. Thanks , I’ve just been searching for info approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon till now. But, what concerning the conclusion? Are you sure in regards to the source?

  7. My brother recommended I may like this blog. He was once entirely right. This publish actually made my day. You can not consider simply how so much time I had spent for this info! Thank you!

  8. After I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Kudos!

  9. Currently it appears like Expression Engine is the top blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?

  10. This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!

  11. Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains. If you know of any please share. Kudos!

    1. There’s a plugin called Yoast SEO. I’m not familiar with it, but it has good reviews. Honestly, SEO is something I’d like to work on as well.

  12. Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes which will make the most important changes. Thanks for sharing!

  13. Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely believe that this web site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the info!

  14. Hmm it appears like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any helpful hints for novice blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.|

    1. Oh I’m sorry to hear that my blog ate your comment! I have had that happen, and it’s so aggravating! I’m also sorry I took so long to respond. I do have some hints–don’t ignore your readers ;). Also, try to think of what your readers need. You can weave in your own stories, because your life has meaning. Keep your eyes on the reader’s needs, though. People respond to that. Also, be careful to respect the copyright of others. I include links to people’s pages, use Pixabay’ free images and mostly use my own photos. Lastly, share your blog on other social media platforms. Hootsuite is a great way to automate that. God bless you in your writing, and may you be a blessing to others!

  15. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. cheers

  16. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely excellent. I really like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it wise. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is actually a wonderful website.

  17. Appreciating the persistence you put into your site and in depth information you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.

  18. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you’re going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  19. Hello, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is very much appreciated.

    1. Tons! It’s ridiculous! But among them are some good comments as well. I use akismet, but there are still many that come through. I just have all comments blocked until I have time to review and approve them.

  20. Hi! I’ve been reading your website for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the good work!

  21. Wow, this article is fastidious, my younger sister is analyzing these things, thus I am going to convey her.

  22. Spot on with this write-up, I honestly think this amazing site needs much more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks for the info!

  23. Great blog here! Also your web site loads up
    fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
    I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Editor's Picks

Books, Courses, and More!